Double And Troubles
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Follows No Place To Go - Kevin's been replaced by his Nighlok, and none of the Samurai know it. The Samurai think they're safe for now, but trouble's still trying to hit them from all sides. The worst part is, they have no idea they're under attack.
1. Terran's Steps

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made.

* * *

"OW!"

"Hold still, squirt," Serena gently lowered the ice down onto Emily's nose, trying to get as much of the bruising as possible. Now that they were in a real home and no longer on an island above the Shiba House, Serena had a real first aid kit and could work on making sure her sister's face wasn't too black and blue. Between the punch in the jaw from Nighlok Mike, and her own clumsiness in the woods when she tripped and smashed her nose in the ground, Emily's face was covered in bruises. Her eyes were surrounded by what almost looked like a raccoon mask, and one of her cheeks was pretty badly beaten. There were also cuts and scrapes everywhere on her body. If she went out into public, she would get a lot of very strange looks from people. Most would assume someone had beaten her. They weren't far from the truth, but there was a huge difference between domestic abuse and a Nighlok beating the crap out of her.

The Shiba House was long gone. After it had been crushed and flooded from two separate attacks by Emily's and Kevin's clones, there was no going back to it. Ji had already made a few calls and promised he had some friends who were working on rebuilding it just as it had been, but that was going to take time.

Until then, James had offered his home temporarily. He lived in the middle of the city, and though he would gladly take all the Samurai, and even Storm, in for as long as they needed, he couldn't do that. If the Nighlok found out where the Samurai were living, his entire neighbourhood would be in danger. So he was on the computer, trying to get a look around the city to see if there was anywhere the Rangers could stay until they had their house back. He was also checking over his shoulder constantly. It turned out; Serena's foot hadn't been broken. It had been badly sprained, and the swelling made it difficult to move, but she would make a faster recovery than they expected – as long as she stayed off of it. James knew Serena very well though. The chances of that happening were slim to none unless someone intervened.

Jayden was fussing over Ji. The older man had a few bruises on his back from when he had shielded Kevin in the stone storm, and he had also been hit in the head. Though he insisted he was fine, and just had a headache, Jayden was being cautious and checking up on him every few seconds. Ji was sure Jayden would be waking him up in the middle of the night to make sure he was still alive. It was annoying, but he let it happen with a chuckle. It was a good feeling being taken care of, and it was nice to see Jayden was finally strong enough to look out for him.

Mia and Kevin were on the couch. Mia had fallen asleep in Kevin's arms, and he sat in silence with her and played with her hair. He seemed relieved that she was okay.

Antonio was applying ice to Mike's back. It was healing up nicely and he was getting back to his regular, daily activities, but the cool feeling from the ice felt really good. Back on the island, the closest Mike could get to pain relief was a dip in the water.

"OW!" Emily cried again and James turned his attention to her. Serena had removed the ice from her face and was now getting a closer look at the shape of Emily's nose. James couldn't see anything truly wrong with it, but it seemed like Serena was convinced her sister's face was deformed.

"Maybe we should see a doctor…"

"No," Emily pulled her head away quickly and nearly fell off her stool. Serena caught her just in time and steadied her. Emily shook her head, "I'm _fine!_"

"But it looks…"

"It's fine! It's just sore. It'll heal by itself."

"Are you sure…?"

"I'm not disfigured!" Emily huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, and then groaned when the change of expression hurt her nose."

"But I just…"

"James!"

"Leave her alone, Serena," James chuckled. "Her nose is just as crooked now as it was before."

"HEY! I do not have a crooked nose!" Emily hopped off the stool and walked over to the playpen. Terran was inside with all his toys, but he seemed to be most fascinated by the dog standing on the other side of the gate. This was Storm and Terran's first meeting. Storm wasn't used to babies, and thought Terran had spent most of his life with Scruffy, Storm was a completely different dog in personality and in physical appearance. It was a whole new experience to Terran.

Emily lifted Storm into her arms and cuddled her dog, "You love me, don't you?"

Storm licked her face. It hurt, but Emily tried not to let it show. She looked down at Terran with a smile, "And you love me too, don't you?"

"No one here doesn't love you," Serena smirked, "We just have to learn to love the crooked nose."

"It's not crooked!"

"It's cute, Em," Antonio chuckled.

"It's not crooked!"

"There's still a bit of swelling," Ji said and he waved Emily over so he could have a look. Thinking Ji was doing this to help her with her argument with what seemed to be every person in the house, Emily approached him. Ji gave her nose a quick check and then smiled at her, "We won't know until the swelling and the bruising go down. But even if it is crooked…"

"It's not crooked!"

Emily stomped over to Terran and picked him up. With him and Storm in her arms, she walked to Terran's bedroom. They were the only ones on her side, so she would only play with them.

Serena laughed to herself and then rolled her chair over to James' desk to see how he was getting along with the house search.

"Find anything yet?"

"Hotels are risky, for the obvious reason, and there's really no house for sale that isn't pricey or in a neighbourhood."

"Money isn't an issue," Ji insisted.

"How loaded are you Samurai?" James asked rhetorically and then he looked Serena in the eyes, "The only option you guys have might be to rough it."

"Rough it?" Kevin asked.

"Camping," James nodded. "I love camping, so I've got plenty of supplies stored away. You can use that."

"So you mean we go from living in a mansion to sleeping in sleeping bags for maybe months? Freezing to death at night, and burning up in the summer?" Mike asked, "And on top of that, I have to live with no electricity? Nahuh. You heard Ji, money's no option."

"Michael," Serena frowned but Ji gave his head a little nod.

"I have plenty of money saved up for emergencies," he insisted. "It you can find a neighbourhood that's safe…"

"That's just it," James shook his head, "There really is nowhere that's safe. Anywhere you guys go, you'll be putting people nearby in danger. We're in the city. We're not miles away from our neighbours. Hell, t night, I'm lucky when I can't hear mine blasting their music at three in the morning."

Serena started to bat her eyelashes, "I love you."

"Oh no," James groaned. He knew what that look meant, "What do you want?"

"Do you mind if my parents stay here with you for… however long it takes Ji's friends to…"

"Nope. I'll do a lot for you, Serena, but I'm not having your parents stay here for months," James shook his head, "Camping is…"

"We need protection too," Serena put her hand on James' arm, "We already don't have a working Gap Sensor. I mean, the Samuraizers will go off if there's trouble, but everyone knows they aren't as strong."

"Serena…"

"And a tent, when you think about it, is really no protection at all. If a Nighlok comes, there's only a thin, thin, practically non-existent wall between us and him."

"But I don't want to have your parents over," James groaned. "I already hate going up to visit them. Your dad always ropes me into doing farm work and I get all gross and sweaty and too tired for the drive home, and neither of them give me a minute with Terran!"

"If my parents are here, you won't have to do farm work," Serena told him, "And…"

"No…"

"A house out in the country keeps everyone safe. The people in the city aren't in danger because we won't be around, and there will actually be walls with doors and locks. It'll take the Nighlok longer to break in and kill us. You wouldn't want a Nighlok to kill us, would you?"

"If you make me have your parents over for a couple of months, I would. Besides, there's no guarantee…"

"At this point, the Nighlok are more focused on killing us than on destroying the city. All the recent attacks have been centered on killing us, or tearing us apart," Serena said, "They'll follow us out to the country."

"They will," Kevin nodded his head. Though the others had no idea, he was speaking for the Nighlok. If the Samurai all went out to the country, where they were isolated and far from help, it was better for him. Though terrorizing the city meant more people suffered, destroying the Rangers would leave the city wide open for later. "Serena's right, the attacks have been Ranger focused."

"But I don't want to have your parents over," James whined to Serena, "A few days, maybe, but months…"

"Dude, why don't you just come with us?" Mike suggested. "You totally kicked Nighlok Jayden's ass. You're strong enough to protect yourself should something happen, and if we're going to isolate ourselves, we'll need someone looking out for us in case something happens. It'll be perfect."

"I don't know…"

"SERENA!" Emily's scream interrupted the conversation and startled everyone. It even pulled Mia right out of her sleep as she sat up in a panic. All together, the Rangers rushed to Terran's bedroom and then stopped right in their tracks. Their eyes were wide. Their jaws dropped. Serena fell to her knees, and not just because her foot was hurting from use.

Emily was squatting, with her arms held out to Terran, but he wasn't within arm's reach. He was up, on his own feet, a little ways away from the wall, and a little ways away from Emily. He was about halfway between the two of them and on wobbly legs he was walking closer and closer to Emily.

"C'mon, Terran," Emily coached him, waving her hands to keep him interested. He had already gotten bored once and fell on his butt after a couple of steps. Emily knew he could make it all the way, as long as he had somewhere to walk to. She made a silly face, and then blew a raspberry. Terran smiled and wanted to play along. He continued to put one foot in front of the other until he was close enough to Emily's arms. He threw himself forward and she caught him. She lifted him in the air, "YAY! You did it!"

Terran babbled excitedly until he was set back down on his feet. Emily kept her arms around him and repositioned him so he was facing Serena. She could see her sister was tearing up and wanted to share in the moment.

"Terran, go give mommy a hug."

Serena held her arms out, inviting him over. Terran tried to hurry up, but ended up falling over before he could take a step. The fall wasn't very far with his short legs, so it didn't shock him. Emily lifted him back onto his feet and he tried again. He wobbled, and several times he looked like he was going to fall over, but Storm came to the rescue. When Terran would tip, she would gently push him back up and let him balance on her. She stuck close to him the entire walk, until he was close enough to Serena's arms. Terran babbled happily as he launched himself into his mother's arms and she pulled him into a hug, showing his cheek with kisses while her own were showered with tears of pride and joy.

"Dammit…" James muttered. He too felt a sense of pride as he watched his son take his first steps, but another feeling came up inside of him. One he was sure would haunt him for a while: guilt. He couldn't make any promises to Serena about their current living arrangements. He had custody of Terran until the war against the Nighlok was over. With the way things were going now, that looked to be a while still. She had been lucky enough to catch his first steps, but James could in no way promise she would be around for his other firsts.

Maybe letting his in-laws stay in his home for a few months wasn't such a bad idea. And maybe going out to the country with the Rangers wasn't too dangerous.

If anything, it was worth a little extra trouble. Seeing the way Serena lit up as Terran continued to practice his walking skills by travelling back and forth between Serena and Emily, James knew he owed it to the little family to give them as many moments as possible.

After all, the war could be won, but it was very possible not all the Rangers would come home. It was likely that Terran never see his mother again next time they were forced to say goodbye.

James pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial number two.

"Hey, Jack, it's James. Listen, this is going to sound really crazy, and it kind of is… but can the Samurai and I borrow your house? … You'll stay at my house… Serena and Emily know how to take care of the farm, right? … Well, actually, that's kind of a long story, and it ends with the Shiba House being crushed and flooded… why don't you just talk to Ji."

James handed his phone over to Ji, "Here, you make the arrangements. My son's walking."

James passed the phone over and Ji started to explain the request in detail so Jack, and Ellie if she was listening, would know exactly what they were agreeing to. Meanwhile, the other Samurai were all gathered around Terran, taking in everything of the moment where he took his first steps. They were all smiles and Terran was all laughs. Walking, for him, was now a trick that, if he did it right, made all the people in the room smile.

All but one. His uncle Kevin was smiling, but not like the others. Terran waddled over to him and grabbed his legs, pulling tightly on his pants. Kevin lifted him and gave him a gentle hug.

"You're a very special little boy, aren't you?"

"Stop hogging him!" Mike called, "Put the kid back on his feet and send him my way!"

Kevin nodded and obliged. After all, by the looks of things, it seemed he would be hanging around for a while.


	2. Testing Boundaries

The switch was successful. Well, almost successful. The Samurai arrived at the farm, and when Serena and Emily came out of the car, Jack flipped out. While all the Rangers were still recovering from when the Shiba House had nearly crushed them and their doubles attacked, Serena and Emily _looked_ the worst. Serena had a brace on her foot and was moving around on crutches, and Emily's face especially was black and blue. While everyone had a few cuts and a few visible bruises (Mike's were all hiding under his shirt), that was normal for the Samurai.

Fortunately for the Rangers, Jack seemed content to blame Ji. Unfortunately for Ji, the Rangers found it funny watching a Samurai Master trying to defend himself and explain himself to a common man. They refused to help him. Ji did manage to explain what happened and earned himself a couple of threats as he did. Eventually, Jack and Ellie packed up and said goodbye.

Kevin looked around the farm in awe as the other Rangers stepped into the house to get settled – though like him, most were distracted by the farm. There was a lot of space, which Serena had already explained was owned by them. To Kevin, that was a lot of space for him to get to work. The closest place anyone could go for help wasn't even in sight. This was perfect.

Inside the house, Serena made it to the kitchen and took it all in. It had been a while since she had truly been home, and seeing the house was just as she had left it felt good. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Emily holding out a note. She took it and read it, sighing heavily.

"It's a list of chores."

"Man…" Emily groaned, "Barely through the door and we're already being put to work."

"Just the usual, Em," Serena chuckled and ruffled her sister's hair, "You watch the animals, I'll look after the crops."

"Me watch the animals?" Emily gulped. "Uh, my fiancé is the plant guy, maybe…"

"You and Mike aren't joined at the hip," Serena smirked, "I'm sure he'll help me with the plants. Besides, you love the animals."

"Yeah… the problem is, some of them don't like me."

"Even the animals used to pick on you?" Mia asked as she joined the girls in the kitchen, "Wow, Emy, tough life."

"Just the rooster," Emily frowned and looked out the window, where the chicken coop was in sight, "Roosters hate me."

"She's scared of roosters," Serena explained.

"You're scared of a chicken?" Mike chuckled as he came in, "Em, seriously."

"Chickens are deadly!" Emily huffed. "You guys suck."

"What exactly do you have on this farm?" Jayden asked.

"Chickens," Serena smirked as Emily pouted, "Horses, a few cows, and goats…"

Storm's barking could suddenly be heard from inside the house, as well as a few upset horses and scared chickens. Emily immediately rushed out to grab the dog before Storm hurt any of the livestock.

"And now a dog," Serena shook her head and sighed, "Great. We brought a small prey hunting dog onto a farm with chickens. I knew we should have gotten the border collie."

"Where do we settle in?" Antonio asked. The Rangers didn't have much with them. Everything they owned had been crushed and flooded. They had picked up a few supplies that they were going to need on the way up and were now going to need a spot to put them, as well as sleeping arrangements.

Serena gestured upstairs, "Emily, Mike, James, Terran, and I can share Emily's room. It's the first door upstairs. Right next to that is my old room. Mia and Kevin can take that one. Across from that: the guest bedroom. Antonio and Jayden, you can have that and you can either share with Ji, or he can take my parents' room."

"I will have a room to myself," Ji said, knowing that was the best arrangement. It gave Jayden and Antonio a little privacy, and he would be able to work late at night helping his friends get the Shiba House all set up, as well as restoring whatever documents he could based on memory. Fortunately, all the books he had at the Shiba House were copies of the originals, held at the Tengen gate. All was not completely lost, but Ji couldn't ship an entire library over the ocean.

"Let's get settled in, then," Mia grabbed her little backpack and started up the stairs with Kevin and the boys. They split off into their rooms.

Mia walked into Serena's old bedroom and dropped her bag on the bed. Kevin looked around very curiously, hoping to find something of interest, but the room was bare, "Uh, this is… kind of boring."

"Coming from you," Mia chuckled. She walked to the table beside the bed and saw it was covered in bottles of pills, most of which she had no idea what they were. "Emily did say she and Serena shared a room until her parents moved Serena out because she was too sick. They must not have had time to decorate."

"Sick?" Kevin asked. Mia gave him a bit of a strange look.

"And to think, I was the one in the coma," she said. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Uh, yeah; perfectly fine. I just… She's pretty strong now; sometimes I forget she was sick."

Mia picked up one of the bottles, "There's a lot of medication here. Emily always said Serena needed a lot of help staying alive, but there's got to be twenty or thirty different bottles here."

Kevin nodded. He set his bag down on the bed and then looked to Mia with a smile, "We get a room to ourselves, though."

Mia saw the look in his eye. That look. It was the one that meant he wanted her. She gave him another funny look, but didn't back away at his approach. He wrapped his arms around her waist. He wanted to see just how far she would let him go. He wanted to know what exactly he was working with. If Mia trusted him completely, that would make this game, as he saw it, a lot more interesting.

"Kevin, are you sure?" she asked him, "After what happened between Mike and me, you said…"

"I know what I said," Kevin smirked. Truth be told, he had no idea, but he didn't care. He leaned down to kiss her and then fell onto the bed.

-Samurai-

Storm was running wild as she got used to the great big outdoors. She had a lot of room to run around inside the gates at the Shiba House, but this new home was so much bigger. Storm felt like the entire world belonged to her, and she wanted to explore every inch of it.

But Emily was running after her, trying to bring her back in. Emily knew that once Storm got loose and found herself on the hunt, there was no calling her back. Emily would have to be quick on her feet if she wanted to get her dog back. If Storm got lost, there would be no getting her back.

"Gotcha!" Storm's free run was cut short when someone grabbed her collar and held her back. Emily grabbed her dog's collar as well, and then looked up to see who had saved her precious dog.

"Brian?"

The boy nodded his head. He was Emily's age, and had been in all her classes from kindergarten until the day she dropped out of school in eleventh grade. If Abby had been the queen bee, Brian had been the king. He wouldn't bully or harass her as much as Abby had, but he wasn't exactly innocent of the crime, either. Most of the times Emily found herself with a bruise, or stuffed into a locker or another confined space; Brian was the man behind the plan.

"Emily," Brian smiled and he let go of the dog's collar, "Well, well, what brings you back here? We were all pretty sure you'd run off for good. What happened to your face?"

"Broke my nose," Emily whispered and backed off. She pulled on Storm's collar so the dog would know it was time to head home. Brian grabbed her arm.

"Still clumsy, I see. I hear you moved out to the city."

"There was something I needed to do. I'm just home for a while."

Brian crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a friendly smile, "Well, welcome back. I'm meeting up with the others later tonight for dinner by the big lake. Do you want to join us? They'd love to see you."

"I'm sure they would," Emily muttered and shook her head, "Sorry, Brian. I brought some friends back with me…"

"Emily, relax," Brian chuckled. He could tell she was eager to leave, "I know I was a jerk to you all those years. I've changed, trust me."

"Just like that?"

"You've been gone for a while," Brian reminded her, "I'm eighteen now. I'm not a kid anymore. My dad's getting me ready for the day I take over the shop, and it's taught me to be more responsible. Ask anyone around. I'm not the same person. None of us are."

"It's my first night back…"

"After dinner, then?" Brian suggested, "Just meet us after dinner by the big lake, even if it's just for five minutes. We all want to apologize."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked, thinking this was just a little strange. She had just gotten home. No one in town knew she was home, yet Brian was speaking for pretty much everyone in her class.

"We know we were jerks," Brian nodded. "What do you say? Eight o'clock by the big lake?"

"Alright, fine," Emily finally agreed, "I'll see you then."

"Awesome," Brian smiled and then walked off, pulling out his cell phone as he did. Emily watched him go and then looked down at Storm. The dog was giving her a funny look.

"What?" she asked, "I've changed a lot since I've last seen him. There's nothing to say he hasn't changed either. Come on, let's go home. And no chasing chickens. As much as I would love you for scaring them, dad would kill me if you hurt them."

-Samurai-

The smell of dinner cooking reached Kevin's nose. He smiled and looked down at Mia wrapped tightly in his arms. She trusted him completely. This would work nicely for him.

As Mia looked up at him lovingly, he peeled himself away from her and climbed out of bed. He put his pants back on and Mia looked a little hurt.

"Kevin…"

"Dinner should be ready soon," he said, "I can smell it. We're guests, we should offer to help."

"Let someone else help tonight. We'll be here for a while," Mia told him, "We just took a huge step, Kevin. You and I haven't really done anything near… that since… you know."

"Well, we did it. Obviously we're over what happened."

"We should talk…"

"It's fine, Mia," Kevin brushed her off. He pulled his shirt over his head and then left the room. Mia got off the bed and reached for her own clothes. As she put them back on, she tried to hold back the tears. Kevin had his way with her, and as soon as it was over he ran out like it meant nothing – like she meant nothing. She knew she had betrayed him, regardless of whether she was under the spell or not, and he had a right to still be hurt over it. In fact, aside from quick kisses and cuddling, they never really took the bigger steps since that day. Suddenly they had, and it seemed Kevin wanted to show her just how much he was still hurting, by hurting her.

When she was dressed, she picked out her brush from her bag and started to run it through her hair. At this point, she was working very hard to hold back her sobs.

"Mia?" there was a knock on the door. Antonio had been walking by, wanting to call her for dinner, when he noticed she seemed upset. Mia turned to face him and tried to hide how she was feeling, but she couldn't. Antonio walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure? I'm a good listener, I promise."

"It's fine," Mia shook her head and tried to recompose herself. She would have to go downstairs soon, and unless she wanted Antonio to interrogate her, she had to pretend like there was nothing really wrong, "It's just all coming back to me. How we lost everything."

"Really?" Antonio didn't seem too convinced, "I saw Kevin leave the room. If it's something he did…"

Mia shook her head. She wouldn't get Kevin into trouble. She could talk to him about it later, or she hoped she could, "It's fine, Antonio. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Antonio gave her a loving squeeze, "Well… if it happens again, you know… my door's always open."

"Yeah," Mia nodded and forced a smile for Antonio, "I know."


	3. The Great Fall

"This hardly seems fair," Serena muttered, though there was a slight chuckle in her tone, "I cook dinner and dessert, and I have to put away the dishes?"

"Mom cooked dinner and made dessert," Emily said with a smirk. The girls and their mother had had a rough road over the last year, but life was finally getting back on track for them. Their mother was once again the mother they knew growing up. Ellie had cooked a huge feast for the Rangers to dine to that night, and had done all the preparation for the apple pie she knew Emily, Serena, and Ji loved. All Serena had to do to get it ready to eat was heat it all up. "Besides, everyone else is a guest. They don't know what to do with the dishes yet."

"They could have offered," Serena said.

"I guess. I'm sure we'll all do our fair share around here."

"I guess they'll be put to work tomorrow," Serena looked out the window to the farm, where all the animals were settled in for the night, "I don't know how dad does it by himself every day."

"It relaxes him," Emily smiled.

"He always seemed stressed to me."

Emily shrugged her shoulders and then looked up at the clock, "Serena, can I go out tonight?"

"You're eighteen, Emy," Serena laughed, "You don't have to ask my permission if you want to go out with Mike…"

"Not Mike," Emily shook her head, "Storm kind of got loose and I tried to catch her, but she's pretty fast. Brian got her."

"Bri… Brian?" Serena's heart froze. The last time she had seen Brian had been in a _what if_ life. Though it wasn't the real thing, and life was much different in this reality, Brian left a horrible taste in Serena's mouth. The dish she was holding slipped right out of her hand and shattered on the floor.

Emily knelt over to clean it up. Serena leaned on her crutches, trying to take it all in. She seemed to be in shock, and from what she could tell, she was. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't think straight. Her brain wouldn't work properly while images of what Brian, Stephanie, and all their friends had done to her baby sister to make her life a living hell flashed through her mind.

Emily dumped the pieces of the plate away and then walked to the wall to get the broom, while keeping one eye on her sister, "Serena, are you okay?"

Serena snapped herself back to reality and nodded her head, "Uh, why do you want to go see them, Emily? What did they do?"

"Brian was actually… kind of nice," Emily said, "He wanted me to meet up with him and everyone by the lake so they could apologize."

"Emily…"

"I know he was a jerk…"

"Jerk doesn't even begin to describe him. Those… monsters almost ruined your life, Emily."

"I've changed a lot, Serena."

"Yeah, but…"

"You have to give them a chance."

Serena shook her head, "I'm all for taking risks, Em, but not where your safety is involved."

"Safety? They're kids. Besides, you've gambled with my life once or twice before. I've changed a lot, and I have no reason to believe they haven't. Brian said…"

"No."

"What?"

"You asked if you could go out, I'm giving you my answer. No."

Emily huffed unhappily and then pointed to the living room, "Your son is in there. You don't need to baby me."

"You asked my permission."

"Why don't you want me going out?"

"I have a bad feeling, Em."

"Now you have a bad feeling," Emily rolled her eyes, "You'll date Dekker, make deals with Nighlok, put my life, and yours, at risk without a second thought, but you have a bad feeling about me, the Samurai, going to hang out with a few kids from school?"

"Kids are mean, Emily. I'll finish with the dishes; go show the others how to get the VCR started. For geeks, Mike and Antonio sound like they're really struggling."

"No," Emily shook her head and then walked to the front door, "I told Brian I would meet him by the big lake at eight."

"Emily…"

Emily slammed the door as she walked out. Serena groaned. She never wanted teenagers. If there was a way to make sure Terran stayed a baby forever, she would do it. Changing a diaper was easier than dealing with whatever it was Emily was going through this time.

"Do you want me to follow her?"

Serena jumped at the sound of James' voice. She turned to him and nodded her head.

"I love how you can read my mind."

"Also, word of advice: kids hate being told no," James chuckled. "Emily phrased her evening in the form of a request, but she was really just looking for support."

"What do you know about kids?"

"I worked with them," James smirked. "Emily's also got a point…"

"Can we scrutinize my mistakes later? Emily knows this place better than you do. If you let her get too far away, she'll…"

"I know where the lake is," James assured her and gave her a kiss, "I'll make sure your precious baby sister comes home in one piece. But you need to get in the living room fast. They got the VCR working, but now they're fighting over couch space."

"My foot's useless," Serena frowned and started for the living room, "Obviously I get the couch."

-Samurai-

While Emily and James were out, and the others were downstairs watching a movie, Mia was putting Terran to bed. She had just finished giving him a bath and was trying to read him a bedtime story.

Terran, though, had a newfound ability. He could walk. His world, suddenly, was completely different, and before he fell asleep that night he needed to explore every inch of it. Mia could not keep him still, no matter how hard she tried. Eventually, she gave up on the book, scooped him up and set him down in the crib. He put up a bit of a fuss, but sleep started to come to him the moment he was on his back. From his diaper bag, Serena pulled out his favourite blanket and stuffed toy. His eyes were heavy as he reached to take them from her, and he snuggled up with both close to his chest. When he was finally down for the night, Mia started to clean up the room. Terran had gotten his hands on a few things and they needed to go back into their place.

As she was cleaning, there was a gentle knock on the door. She turned and saw Kevin had come up, likely to get her for the movie.

"You've been quiet tonight," he told her. Mia gestured for him to be quiet and walked him out of the room. She closed the door very carefully so as not to wake Terran and then she gestured to their bedroom for the stay. When they were inside, she gave Kevin a strange look.

"You think?"

"If it's about what we did…"

"I thought you were getting over that," Mia huffed, "I know I screwed up, Kevin. I know it hurts. I know it'll be a long, long time before that goes away, if it ever does, but you didn't need to be an ass about it earlier."

"I wasn't trying to be an ass," Kevin was starting to see he had a lot of damage control to do. He couldn't blend in if the Samurai weren't functioning normally, and though he hadn't been around long enough to know their habits, he had been getting a lot of questions, mainly from Antonio, regarding Mia's silence. It seemed it wasn't normal for her to be so withdrawn. He needed to fix that under he had a little more control, "It's still kind of new to me."

"You're just as experienced as I am," Mia rolled her eyes, "You made your point, it hurt…"

"I didn't want to hurt you," Kevin approached her and held her warmly, "I'm sorry, Mia. I really am. Maybe I was just a little thrown off about the fact that this isn't our home. I mean, we're in Serena's old room. This is the room she grew up in…"

"Actually, she only moved in here once she got sick," Mia explained, remembering a talk with Emily from a while back, "She needed so much to keep her alive, and she got so sick, the best thing they could do for her, and for everyone around her, was give her, her own space."

Mia then looked down at the bed as a thought occurred to her, "This was almost her death bed."

Kevin decided to work with that, "Yeah, that thought occurred to me too. It's just kind of weird. You have to admit. And I could smell dinner was about ready, and if the others caught us… I rushed out, I know I did. I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear."

He gave her a kiss on the forehead and squeezed her lovingly, "I would never do anything to hurt you, you know that, right?"

Mia nodded her head just a little, "I'm sorry."

Kevin gave her a quick look. That was easy. Humans were easy. He could try for more.

"You know, I'm a little hurt you would think that poorly of me. I thought you loved me. I thought you trusted me."

"I do, Kevin, I just…"

"Then act like it," he snapped and watched her closely for a reaction. She seemed horrified. He could work with that. As though he was angry, he stormed out of the room, for the second time that day leaving Mia in tears. On the other side of the door, Kevin was smirking wickedly. Without trying, he could get her to break down. It was almost too easy. He was going to need a little more of a challenge.

His storming out and slamming the door had woken Terran. From his room, the little boy was crying loudly for someone to comfort him. Downstairs, the Samurai thought he and Mia would get it under control. In her room, Mia was probably too shocked and upset to even notice the crying. Kevin had Terran to himself.

He walked into the room and grabbed the side of the crib. Terran settled just a little when he saw a familiar face standing over him. He pulled himself up onto his feet and then reached up for Kevin to grab him, wanting to be in someone's arms. Kevin lifted him up and then let him go. The drop was high, especially for such a young boy. Terran hit the ground, smacking his head. The thump his body made when he landed was loud, and his screams of fear and pain were even louder. Kevin raced out of the room, leaving the little boy to cry by himself while footsteps raced up the stairs and Mia darted out of the bedroom. She didn't even see Kevin as he slipped around the corner and into the bathroom. He pulled off his shirt and his pants once he was inside, leaving himself in only his boxers. He wanted it to look like he was getting ready for bed.

When he was out of his clothes, he raced out of the bathroom in a panic and ran into Terran's bedroom, where Serena was trying to soothe him, and was screaming at Mia, whom she assumed had somehow caused the accident. Though Terran was in his crib, if it wasn't properly adjusted for bed, he could hurt himself. Now that he was walking, and from what Serena had heard from James, he had been able to pull himself up to his feet for a while now, Mia needed to be extra careful putting him to bed. It seemed he was talented enough to climb over the edge of the crib and hurt himself, if the side of the bed was lowered.

"I did!" Mia insisted but was too distraught from her talk with Kevin to defend herself any better than that. "He was safe and sound when I left him. I lifted the side of the crib! I did! I did!"

"Then how the hell did he manage to fall out?" Serena screamed and then turned to Terran and tried to be calm for him.

"I don't…"

"Idiot," Serena muttered and walked out of the room, with a screaming Terran still in her arms. She needed to call the doctor. She had his number memorized still, after all those years of calling him for Emily. Surely he would help with Terran.

Mike followed to help. Calming Terran down would require the person holding him to actually be calm, and Serena was not that person.

Jayden, Antonio, and Ji weren't quite sure what to do, but they left with Serena, just to keep their eye on Terran. They wanted to know he was okay before they could go back to doing anything else.

Kevin and Mia were left alone in a room. Kevin looked to Mia and shook his head.

"What's wrong with you?"

Mia no longer had it in her to fight back. Today was a weird day and it didn't look like she was going to get any support from Kevin. For a reason she couldn't explain, he hated her.

She lowered her head and started to leave the room. Kevin grabbed her by the arm, "You could have killed him."

"I didn't…"

"You have to be careful. Babies are very fragile, Mia."

"I know, I…"

"Just, go to bed," Kevin ordered he let go of her arm. Mia did as she was told. Kevin watched her go with a big smile. It was amazing what these Samurai could do to each other.


	4. Do People Change?

James got a little lost on the way to the lake, but he would never tell Serena that. It took him a little extra time to find his way again, but eventually he did make it to the lake.

There was no one around. James had a bit of a bad feeling. Though Emily wasn't the kind of girl who would get in trouble, peer pressure could change someone. He had seen it happen to a lot of the good kids he used to teach. They would get involved with some kids who they thought were cool, and suddenly they were doing things they never used to do.

From the way Serena had reacted to the name Brian, James could tell she thought he wasn't good news. Though Serena wasn't the best judge of character, and sometimes made mistakes of her own, she was still pretty good when it came to keeping her sister safe. If she didn't trust Brian and his friends, neither would James.

"Emily?" he didn't want to call her name too loudly, just in case he and Serena were wrong. If Brian really had changed, like Emily suggested, then it was very possible Emily was just having fun with some old friends from school. He had seen a lot of kids growing up between grades eleven and twelve. The responsibility of finding a college or a job pushed a lot of students to really think about where they were and what they wanted to do with the rest of their life, and they started to realize that a lot of their childish antics were just that. Not every kid had that epiphany though – not as many as James wished, at least, but enough for him to know it was possible.

"James!" Emily called back. James followed the sound of her voice and found her, as well as a group of kids her age. Emily didn't look happy, and these kids looked like they were in over their heads. Emily was also wet.

"What happened?" James asked. Emily huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"They dunked me!"

"Why?"

"We thought it would be funny. We didn't mean anything by it," one of the boys muttered as he cower on the ground. Emily gave him a harsh glare, which made him shrink into himself even more. James chuckled and wrapped one arm around Emily's shoulders.

"Kids mess around, Em."

"I told them no," Emily shook her head, "but they lifted me up, dunked me, and held my head under water."

"We would have let her up!" one of the girls said, "We weren't going to drown her!"

"Though she deserves it," the other boy said. He was also wet, while the others were still dry. James could assume he had done the dunking.

"Games like these can get a little out of hand," James warned the kids and gestured for them to get up, "No more dunking heads underwater, alright?"

"You're letting them go?" Emily shrieked, understanding James' tone right away. Teachers had used that exact tone as a warning to her bullies. Time and time again they had been warned that if they continued to behave the way they always did, there would be consequences. Consequences that never happened.

"Can we go?" the first boy asked and looked to Emily a little fearfully. James nodded his head. They all jumped to their feet and rushed off except for one – the wet one. He wasn't happy either. Emily glared at him, and he returned the look. Then she pretended to lunge for him. He flinched and decided at that point the game was done and walked away.

James wrapped his arms around Emily, "What did you do to him."

"Brian? He's the real meanie. Always has been," Emily grumbled, "He used to pull my hair when we were little, rip toys out of my hand and then hit me with them, and he just got worse as we got older. He almost drowned me!"

"You're fine, though."

"DROWNED!"

"Would a stop for ice-cream make things better?"

"James, you're not listening. He nearly… did you say ice-cream?"

"Just promise me you'll stay away from those kids from now on," James said as he guided her off, "It's obvious that no matter how hard you try, you'll never get along with them."

"You said ice-cream. You promised ice-cream."

James chuckled, "Mia's right, ice-cream is your bandaid."

-Samurai-

After Terran fell, Kevin had ordered for Mia to go to bed, and she listened. He couldn't believe it. It baffled him just how easy it was going to be to take the Rangers out from the inside. If only the other Nighlok knew all Rangers came with a self-destruct button.

In his boxers, because he wanted to keep up the impression he had been getting ready for bed when Terran fell, he went downstairs. Terran wasn't screaming constantly anymore, but he was visibly upset and hurt. There was a huge bump forming on his head, as well as a bruise. Serena was on the phone with the doctor while Ji tended to Terran, who was constantly reaching out for his mother, and screaming at the top of his lungs when she wasn't right next to him.

"Thanks, doctor," Serena was at the end of her call when Kevin arrived, "My uncle's got things under control here, but we'll keep an eye on him for the things you mentioned," Kevin saw she had a pen in her hand, and she was looking down at a notebook that she had filled up with advice and directions from the doctor. "I'll bring him in to see you tomorrow if something comes up. Hopefully I don't see you soon."

"How is the little guy?" Kevin asked as Serena hung up the phone. The worried mother sighed and massaged her temples. It was clear this was not her night.

"Doctor gave me a list of stuff to look out for," Serena held up the notebook, "Ji says he's calming down. He should be okay."

"Good," Kevin smiled and then wrapped his arms around Serena. She looked like she could use a hug, "And don't be too hard on Mia. Mistakes happen."

"I guess," Serena nodded, "I'll apologize to her in the morning. I was a little harsh. She's not normally careless."

"Let me talk to her," Kevin insisted. "I'll let her know everything's okay."

"Thanks," Serena said. She walked into the living room and lifted Terran into her arms. He seemed a bit unsettled with his feet and bum no longer on the ground, but he nestled into his mother's arms and held on tight as she carried him off for bed.

Everyone seemed ready for bed. They wished each other a goodnight and broke off into their rooms. Kevin headed to his room and found Mia sitting on the bed, looking deeply upset. He smirked and then swatted the back of her head. Mia held her head in her hands and looked up at Kevin, extremely horrified. He had never hit her before.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" he growled and grabbed her roughly by the arm, "You're not a nice person."

"Kevin, stop!" Mia cried and tried to rip her arm away from Kevin. He gave her a light slap on the cheek, horrifying her again. Then he pointed to the door.

"Serena's pissed. You're a guest in her house and you drop her baby. She told me she wants you to sleep in the barn."

"No way."

Kevin raised his hand again and Mia cowered away. She grabbed a pillow and hurried out of the room.

She had never been in a barn before, much less slept in one. She made her way inside and found a spot in the corner to sit down.

She had no idea what was going on. Kevin was a completely different person, and she couldn't explain why. At least, she didn't think she could, but she knew there had to be a reason. She remembered talking to Mike on the island, and listening to him as he caught her up on what had happened while she had been in her mini-coma. Kevin had been knocked silly, and for a while he had acted strangely. She thought maybe his behaviour now had something to do with that. She figured maybe he wasn't completely in control of what he was doing.

It was the only excuse that made any sense. In his right mind, Kevin would never behave this way. He would never touch her. Yet, he did.

-Samurai-

"Everyone must be in bed," James whispered as he and Emily snuck into the house. He turned to her to signal she needed to be quiet, but then he couldn't help but laugh at the chocolate on her face. After her unpleasant reunion with her old tormentors, James had decided to end the night on a happy note and took her into town for ice-cream. Fortunately, the bar was still open at that hour and the man who owned it was more than happy to serve up a few scoops of ice-cream for Emily. He seemed to know her personally. "You've got ice-cream… everywhere."

"It was cold. My nose was sore," Emily smirked.

"Now you look like you took eating lessons from Terran," James walked to the kitchen and picked up a cloth from the sink. He tossed it over to Emily, "Serena will kill me if she finds out you had apple pie and chocolate ice-cream in one night."

"Do you promise you won't tell her about tonight? I don't want her thinking she was right."

"I'll tell her what she needs to know," James said, "So what I tell her depends on you. If you stay away from those jerks, she'll never need to know."

"I will, I promise," Emily wiped her face clean and then looked up to the stairs, "I don't know how much sneaking around you had to do, but at night, this place is booby trapped."

"What do you mean?"

"Steps three to five and eight to eleven creak loudly. There is no avoiding them unless you jump."

"Jump?"

Emily nodded her head and walked to the staircase. She stepped up the first two no problem, and then stretched out and put her hands on the sixth step. She took a deep breath and then jumped, skipping over steps three, four, and five with a single leap. She walked up to step seven, reached up to the top of the staircase and then jumped right over steps eight, nine, ten, eleven.

James watched in awe, "There's no way I'm doing that. A little creak won't wake anyone…"

"It'll wake the dead," she warned him. "If you're not going to listen to me, at least let me get tucked in so only you get in trouble for coming home late."

"Or you'll both be in trouble," Serena walked up right behind Emily with her arms crossed over her chest. She had gotten up in the middle of the night to check up on Terran, and heard whispering from the hallway. "I'm glad to see you're getting along, but I didn't expect the party to last well into the night."

"Emily was stood up," James explained from the bottom of the stairs, lying expertly. Emily shot him a look. He was on her side, but if he could lie this well, who knew what else he was lying about. "So we went into town. She needed a bit of cheering up."

Serena didn't seem convinced, and for the obvious reasons. James was an excellent liar. Emily not so much. They were hiding something. She knew it.

"And…?" she pressed on.

James sighed loudly, "Alright, I didn't want to tell you this…"

"James! You promised!" Emily shrieked.

"I gave her ice-cream."

Serena blinked, "That's it? You've been out for hours for ice-cream?"

"It was a big bowl," James held his hands out; "She was determined to finish it."

"Seriously?" Serena looked back and forth between her sister and her fiancé. She was sure there was more, but neither of them was willing to budge on the matter, and they both seemed content with… whatever it was they were hiding. Deciding she was done with all the drama, and she wanted to spend this time at home in peace, she let it go. "Whatever, just come to bed, but whatever you do, don't…"

James put his foot on the third step and it creaked loudly. Emily and Serena covered their ears and James couldn't believe what he had just heard. The other Samurai opened their doors to see what was going on, and Terran started to cry, unhappy his sleep had once again been disturbed.

"…Step on the creaky stairs…" Serena groaned.

"Told you," Emily stuck her tongue out at James, "Booby trapped."

"You have to jump up," Serena told him while Emily explained what was going on to the boys, who wanted to know what had made that awful creak. "Jump. Step six is safe."

"It doesn't creak like that during the day," James lifted his foot and stretched it high and far, skipping over the creaky stairs Emily had warned him about. "You should put markers or something."

"Mom and dad were really protective of us," Serena explained. James made it over the first set and she helped him get over the second, "That was so that if an intruder did come in; they couldn't make it up the stairs without waking up the entire house."

"What about down the stairs?" Kevin asked, finding it odd Mia had raced out of the house without alerting anyone.

"Downstairs is fine," Emily chuckled, "We don't know why. Dad always said there was a method to his madness."

"I think it was because he used to sneak downstairs for a second helping of dessert," Serena said with a laugh.

"You said three to five and eight to eleven?" Kevin asked.

Emily nodded, "I'll mark them tomorrow, I promise."

"Don't bother," Kevin shrugged, "I don't think that's something we'll forget. Good night, guys."


	5. Home Is A Place For Safety

Mia did not sleep well. She didn't expect to, either. She had been banished to the barn after being wrongly accused of carelessly handling Terran. She had no proof against the claim, but there was no proof to support it, either.

It was early morning when she was pulled from her sleep by a barn door creaking open. She opened her eyes and saw it was Kevin. Hoping this could be their chance to talk about whatever it was that was bothering him, she sat up to greet him. Kevin just flicked his thumb over his shoulder.

"Go inside."

"Kevin, can we talk?"

"About what?" Kevin crossed his arms over his chest, "You know what you did."

"What did I do?"

"Just go inside, before the others wake up."

"I didn't drop Terran. I lifted the side of the crib. I swear I did…"

"Well he didn't just magically climb out, did he?" Kevin growled, "Besides, that's not what I'm talking about. The kid will be fine."

"So then what…"

"You owe me an apology."

"For what?"

"You should know," Kevin scoffed, "Now go inside. I won't tell you again."

"Whatever I did, Kevin…"

"A real apology," Kevin grabbed her arm roughly and shoved her out of the barn. When she wasn't looking he was smirking. Humans were so easily fooled, and so easy to play with. Mia hadn't done anything to hurt him. There was nothing she could do to hurt him. He was a Nighlok – he didn't care about her, and if he did care, all he cared about was breaking her down. Ruining one Ranger would make them all a little more unstable and easier to crack. He shoved her again, this time in the direction of the house and barked, "Inside!"

Mia walked inside and headed right for the bathroom. She knew she had a day of farm work ahead of her, knowing the chores would go by a lot faster if everyone chipped in to help, but she had to get the smell and feel of the barn off of her before breakfast. She couldn't imagine what the others would say if they knew she had slept outside.

Then again, according to Kevin, it was Serena's decision.

Kevin watched her go into the house and then smiled. This was all too easy. He was starting to think he needed a second mission. Something else to keep his mind occupied when he wasn't trying to gain control of Mia.

"Dude," someone called and he turned to see a young man. If Nighlok Kevin had to guess what age the human was, he would say it was somewhere around Emily's age, but he couldn't be too sure. The man was holding flowers. He walked right up to Kevin, which surprised the Nighlok.

"What do you want?"

"I'm a friend of Emily's," the young man said and held out his hand, "You must be one of the guests she has over."

"Sure," Kevin wasn't going to rock the boat with a stranger and just agreed to whatever he said. He shook the outstretched hand and he felt something Nighlok rarely ever felt in humans – power. Suddenly, Kevin was quite interested.

"I just wanted to give these to Emily. Welcome her back, you know, and apologize for last night. Can you tell her they're from Brian and the gang?"

"You being Brian?"

"Yeah," Brian nodded, trying to conceal a little smirk. Kevin could see he was up to something. "Tell her, if she wants, we're all going up to the mountainside this afternoon. She's more than welcome to join us. We won't dunk her, promise."

Kevin crossed his arms over his chest, "What do you plan on doing with her?"

Brian looked a little curious and worried, "Uh… hang out? What do you think we want to do… dude, I have a girlfriend already, and Emily's…"

"Do what you want with her," Kevin shrugged, "I just want to know what exactly. I love a good… prank."

"Prank?" Brian's face lit up, "You love pranks too?"

"The more humiliating the better. It builds character. Emily needs a lot of that."

"She does deserve it after humiliating me last night," Brian smiled. "I dunked her in the water and she handed me my ass."

"You dunked her? You can do better than that," Kevin smiled and gave the boy an encouraging pat on the shoulder, "You're holding yourself back…"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but it's kind of a small town. Everyone knows everyone's business. You can't get away with much around here."

"You can if you know how to do it right. Obviously you and your friends won't squeal on yourselves."

"No way," Brian shook his head, "That would just be stupid."

"The key is getting your victim… prank victim, not to squeal. Convince them it's in their best interest not to say a word."

"How?"

"You and I are a lot alike, I can feel it," Kevin gave Brian a warm smile; "I know you'll figure it out. If anything goes wrong, and the little brat does squeal, I'll make sure nothing happens to you or your friends. Just make sure, whatever you do, hurts. The more pain, the better. The more she screams, the more fun you'll be having."

"I like the sound of that."

"I like you Brian. We'll keep in touch."

"You'll make sure Emily meets us by the mountainside?"

"She'll be there," Kevin nodded. "I promise."

Kevin took the flowers from Brian as the boy hurried off, hopefully to get started on Kevin's work. If all went according to plan, and Brian unleashed his full power, Kevin was sure he would have two of the Ranger girls down and out before the end of the day. Mia was ready to crumble, all it would really take at this point was his command, and Emily had no idea what was in store for her. Kevin's only concern was getting her up to the mountain.

He headed inside. No one was awake yet except for Mike.

A deadly flaw in Kevin's plans for Emily. He hadn't been around for long, but Kevin had seen the connection between Mike and Emily. The green Ranger would never let his fiancée go meet up with past tormentors on the side of a mountain.

Emily, likely, wouldn't want to meet up with her tormentors again, especially not after the night she had had with them.

But she would love to go to the mountainside on a nice, romantic date with Mike.

The green Ranger was sitting on the couch, watching TV – well, flipping through the few channels they had. Kevin walked up to him and offered him a smile.

"Nothing on?"

"Nope. What's up with the flowers, dude?"

Kevin looked at the bouquet in his hand, "Just thought I would give them to Mia. Cheer her up a bit after last night. She's pretty upset about the whole thing."

"Terran's fine," Mike promised, "I think he was mostly just shaken up. Once we got him down for bed, he went right to sleep, and this morning he woke up and it was like nothing had happened. I don't expect him to be the next Einstein anymore, though."

Kevin chuckled and sat down next to Mike, a little close for comfort. Mike liked the blue Ranger like a brother, but even among close friends, personal space still existed. Before he could ask him to back off, though, Kevin's arm wrapped around his neck and Mike couldn't breathe. His eyes widened and he tried to scream, he tried to fight, but he was quickly losing strength. Kevin dragged him through the house and upstairs to his bedroom. Unable to breathe, Mike couldn't make a noise to alert the others of his troubles as he passed by their room. Kevin dragged him inside, and then opened up the closet door just as Mike was starting to see stars. Kevin squeezed a little harder until Mike fell limp. Then he let go. The green Ranger slumped to the floor. Kevin pulled out the Samuraizer Octoroo had made for him and traced a symbol. As Mike started to come to, he felt himself being wrapped up tightly by what felt like rope. It squeezed and tightened until he could no longer move. He was trapped, curled up into a ball, and made to be as small as possible. Realizing his predicament, and realizing whoever this Kevin was, he was not a Kevin Mike or the others could trust, Mike tried to scream for help, but a gag got in his way. Again, Mike could barely breathe, and he didn't even think about screaming. He was so focused on just trying to breathe.

Then, Kevin did what Mike was truly terrified of. He pushed him into the corner of the closet, dropped a few blankets over him so he wasn't visible to anyone just glancing into the closet, and then he closed the door. Not only was Mike tied up, but he was trapped in a very confined space.

Smirking, knowing that would keep Mike out of the way for a long time, Kevin went downstairs. No one was there. Those who were awake were likely getting ready for their first day of farming, and those who weren't were taking advantage of getting some sleep before their first day of farming.

Kevin set the bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table and then wrote a note to Emily and whoever else would read it.

Then he made himself breakfast.

-Samurai-

Mia got out of the bathroom after showering and was just about to head into her room when Serena called her name. She turned around and saw the white Ranger was, oddly enough, all smiles.

"How's Terran?" Mia asked. She couldn't even look Serena in the eye, assuming the older girl was furious with her, and the smile was just a façade so Mia wouldn't run away.

"He'll be fine. He won't be Einstein, that's for sure, but I don't think the fall was anything too serious. Don't worry about it."

"I'm really sorry," Mia whispered meekly, "I should have been more careful. It's all my fault…"

"Hey, relax," Serena gently pulled her into a warm hug, "I was actually coming here to apologize to you. I freaked out a bit… well, a lot last night and you took the brunt of it. I overreacted. I'm sorry."

"It won't happen again, I promise."

"It's fine," Serena assured her, "I dropped Emily on her head three times before she was one. As far as I know, this is only time number two for Terran. Emily turned out fine, so Terran's still got a shot."

"No thanks to me," Mia looked down at her feet, "I'll stay away from him…"

"Mia," Serena now looked to Mia was deep concern, "I said it was fine. What's wrong? Why are you acting like… like Emily? I'm not mad. I don't want to hurt you. I swear. I know it was just an accident and… I'm sorry I overreacted."

"Sorry…"

"Stop apologizing to me! You didn't mean it, I know you didn't!" Serena tried to control her tone, but she was getting frustrated. This wasn't the Mia she knew. Mia wouldn't keep apologizing over and over again. She would feel bad, and she would apologize but… not like this. She was behaving a lot like Emily used to, when Emily used to always be putting herself down by repeating the words her bullies and teachers used to say to her.

Something had gotten into Mia's head. Serena was convinced of it. She pulled her Ranger sister into a hug, "Mia, what's wrong? I'm sorry I snapped, I really am. I don't blame you at all. I'm Terran's mother. He's walking and standing now and I should have been more responsible."

"You were mad last night."

"Yeah, for all of five minutes. Didn't Kevin tell you I was sorry?"

Mia shook her head, "He hurt his head pretty bad when the house came down. He's been different since then. He must have forgotten or heard you wrong or..."

"What did he tell you?"

"He hurt his head. He…"

"Did he tell you I was upset?"

"He hasn't been himself…"

"And you're not you, either," Serena shook her head. "Mia, tell me what happened. What did he say to you. Why are you so scared of me now?"

"Kevin said you were pissed. But he…"

"No excuses. I want to know what happened, not what you think caused it."

"He… he said you were pissed and… he said… you wanted me to… to… sleep in the barn?"

Serena's eyes were wide as she stared at Mia strangely. She had never said that. She had never said anything close to that.

"I never… did you?"

"He made me."

"How?"

Mia shied away, "I don't know."

"What did he do? How does he make you do something?"

"He hurt his head. It's not his fault…"

"No excuses. Did he touch you?"

"He's a good person. He just hurt his head…"

"I'll kill him," Serena growled and spun around, dropping the crutches, too pissed off to feel any pain at all. She stormed down the stairs, making her anger clear to everyone in the house.

In the kitchen, Kevin heard the heavy steps down the stairs and he looked over. Before he knew it, he was face to face with an angry Serena, and a little ways behind her, looking hurt and terrified was Mia.

Serena shoved him, tripping him over his chair. By now, everyone in the house except for Mike had come to see what was going on. Antonio quickly noticed the tears in Mia's eyes and rushed to her side, pulling her into his arms.

"Get out of my house. Get off my property," Serena barked to Kevin as she pointed to the door. "You're not welcome here."

"Serena…"

"I don't give a fuck if we need a blue. If he's going to be an ass, I'm treating him like one," Serena grabbed Kevin by the back of the neck, and with a strength he hadn't seen coming, she dragged him over to the door and threw him out of the house. She slammed the door shut behind him and locked him out. Then she turned to the Samurai, "Under no circumstance is he allowed inside the house, understood?"

"Serena, what's going on?" James asked, and he hoped, but at the same time feared Serena had a reason for kicking out one of the Rangers, and it wasn't that she had just finally snapped.

"Emily, what's rule number one in this house?" Serena turned to her sister. Emily felt like she had been put on the spot.

"Uh… safety first?"

"When you're inside this house, you are never supposed to feel threatened," Serena nodded. "This is a safe place," she gave Mia a quick look, "Anyone who breaks that rule is not allowed on the property."

"Kevin broke that rule?" Antonio asked and looked down at Mia. He had seen her upset the day before and because she had brushed it off, he had decided not to dig. It seemed he should have. He should have dug deep.

"There's work to be done," Serena said. She could tell from the look in Mia's eyes that the pink Ranger wasn't ready to talk about what had happened. "Mia, if you want, you can babysit Terran. The rest of you can help me on the farm. The harder we work, the sooner we'll get it all done. I want to see you all outside in thirty minutes, got it?"

"Yes, mam," the boys all nodded.

"Yes, mom… mam… Serena?" Emily slipped up. Serena shot her a look and then ignored her. She took Terran from James' arms, and told Mia to follow her so she could give the pink Ranger instructions on caring for the little boy.

When Serena and Mia were gone, everyone looked around at each other. Emily turned to Ji.

"You know all those times you said Serena reminded you a lot of mom? I see it now."

"Em," Jayden called from beside the kitchen table. He lifted the flowers up to show her, "Someone was romantic this morning."

Emily stepped down the stairs with a curious look on her face. She took the flowers and then the note from Jayden. She opened the note and inspected it.

"Doesn't look like Mike's handwriting," she passed the note to Jayden for him to read.

"_Hey, Em,_

"_It's been a rough few days lately and I thought we could use a bit of a break. It might look like I'm cheating out on farm work, but I promise I'll work double time tomorrow to make up for it. I've got a special lunch planned for the two of us up by the mountainside. Meet me there this afternoon._

"_Love, Mike._

"_XOXO."_

"He'll use any excuse to get out of hard work," Jayden chuckled and he gave Emily a smile, "but he's right. It has been a bit of a rough time for us lately."

"So you guys will be fine if I ditch? Trust me, the work won't be done by lunch time, no matter how hard we work at it."

"We will cover for you today," Ji gave her an approving nod, "So long as you return before too late and you agree to cover for us, should we need an afternoon away."

"Deal," Emily smiled and hugged the flowers to her chest. Coming home had been a bit of a rocky start, and she was sure there was still a lot of drama left to deal with. Serena had just kicked Kevin out and whisked Mia away before she could break down into tears. Emily could use a bit of time away, just to have fun.


	6. Emily's Bullies

"Mike?" Emily reached the clearing by the side of the mountain where most people came to relax. She hoped she had found the right place. She knew this town like the back of her hand, but Mike was still new. He had only been up to her home once, and had never left her property. He must have gotten the idea of lunch on the mountainside from someone, but she wasn't sure he knew exactly where it was or what that meant.

"Who's Mike?"

Emily almost jumped out of her skin and spun around. She found herself face to face with Brian, Stephanie, Clara, and Steve. They didn't look very happy with her, and she couldn't blame them. They had tried to pick on her the night before, but she had shown them she wouldn't be pushed around anymore. Brian had tried to dunk her and the others watched and laughed. Fed up with being the victim, Emily fought back, turning the tables on Brian by dunking him. He was big, but she was stronger.

"My fiancé," Emily said and tried to walk away. The best advice she had ever been given was to walk away. They couldn't mess with her if she wasn't around.

"Yeah, right," Brian scoffed and grabbed her arm, pulling her back, "Like anyone would want to marry an ugly bitch."

Emily ripped her arm out of Brian's grasp, "Stop it. Leave me alone."

"No," Brian shook his head. "We're playing the game. Remember the rules?"

"I'm not playing," Emily shook her head. "I'm finding my fiancé and we're going home."

"You used to love this game," Brian insisted and put his hand on her shoulder to stop her from leaving. At this point, Emily had had enough. She knew Brian's mindset. He would keep grabbing her and pulling her back until she gave into his requests. She wanted to show him she wouldn't be picked on anymore. She was tired of always being picked on. As soon as he touched her shoulder, she spun around and punched him in the stomach. It was nothing too hard compared to what she could have done, but it was enough to send the message. She would fight back.

Brian clutched his stomach and doubled over in pain. Steve tried to come in to help, seeing his friend was hurt, but Brian held up a hand. He coughed, bringing the air back into his lungs, and then stood up straight. By now, Emily had already turned to walk away.

"You bitch!" he shouted and charged at her. Emily heard him coming and stepped out of the way. Brian's momentum was too much for him to stop in time and he stumbled down the little hill that led up to the clearing. Emily watched him roll with a little smile. That time she didn't even have to touch him.

"That's it," Brian quickly got to his feet. He had always been very athletic and very good on his feet. He played for the school's football team, so he knew how to take a hit and he knew how to get up quickly when he was knocked down. He charged up the hill. Emily tried to get up the way, but even uphill he was fast. He grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. Emily asked him once to put her down. Then she screamed it. He wouldn't listen. Instead, he swatted her butt. Emily returned the gestured with a hard punch to the back, winding him again. As he gasped for breath, he let her go. She rubbed her butt.

"That's just wrong," she huffed.

The score was 2-1 for Emily. For once, she was winning against the bullies.

-Samurai-

Finally, the Samurai were giving him a bit of a challenge. Kevin wasn't too happy he had been kicked out of the house and banished from the farm, but he was starting to see the Rangers were capable of putting up a fight, and they weren't too fragile to handle a beating from inside the pack. He had other things to worry about that would keep him occupied for the day, and then when he returned, he could act out a sincere apology and earn his way back into the house. If all went according to plan, Mike would still be locked in the closet, unable to scream for help, Emily would be missing, or too badly broken to be of any use to anyone, and he would be back to tormenting Mia behind closed doors. Maybe, he would even get the chance to start work on another Samurai.

But for now, he took advantage of his day away from the farm to check up on his protégé. When Kevin met Brian and shook his hand, he had sensed something inside of him. There was a part of Brian that was no different from a Nighlok. Pain, suffering, and power made him stronger. It gave him a rush, a rush he couldn't live without. Brian needed human suffering. So far, because of his human upbringing, he had been forced to contain it. Kevin wanted to encourage Brian to unleash it. It would help him get rid of the Samurai a little faster.

He walked to the mountain side and had a quick look around. Emily should be here by now. A smile reached his face when he saw her, but it quickly disappeared when he saw she wasn't scared. Three of the four people around her seemed shocked, and Brian, Kevin's protégé, looked frustrated.

"She can't be winning," he said to himself and stepped out to the clearing to give his friends a hand. He walked up behind Emily, taking her by surprise. He grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her back.

"OW! What…" she looked over her shoulder, assuming it was Steve who grabbed her. She was wrong – it was Kevin, "What are you doing?" she shrieked and tried to pull away from him. Though Serena had kicked him out of the house, and she seemed to be pissed off with him, Emily never imagined he would help her bullies.

She had an advantage with Brian and the other teens. She was a Samurai. She was trained to fight monsters and protect herself. With Kevin, not only was he bigger and stronger than she was, but he was also a more experienced Samurai. He had been training since she was just a little baby. If he wanted to hurt her, he could.

But it didn't seem that way. When he had her pinned, unable to free herself or protect herself, he looked at Brian.

"Remember, the more she screams, the more fun it is for you."

Brian nodded. He made a tight fish with his hand and pounded into Emily.

-Samurai-

Down in the Netherworld, the real Kevin was truly suffering. Not only was he at the mercy of Octoroo, who wanted to get the secrets of the Sealing Symbol out of him no matter the cost, but he was also forced to watch what his Nighlok clone was doing to his friends.

And there would be no end to it until he spilled the secret Symbol. Octoroo had made it so that Kevin could survive in the Netherworld. He stuck a paper seal to the blue Ranger's chest, and as long as it remained there, or was still touching a part of his body, Kevin could withstand the cruel, unforgiving Netherworld.

"Please," Kevin never imagined himself ever pleading with a Nighlok. Now it was all he could do. He was in an unbearable amount of pain, and he was certain he was only alive because of the seal on his chest. If it slipped off, he was sure his injuries would kill him long before the Netherworld would. He was also tied to mast, unable to get away, or even stand up from his seated position and forced to watch through the portals as each of his friends suffered by his hands. Kevin looked through the portal, showing him what Mia was up to. He hated looking to that portal, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from it. Seeing her so beaten down, and knowing she thought it was him hurting her, but then watching as she tried to defend him, and still tried to see the good side in him, he wasn't worthy. It killed him to watch her cry. It killed him to see her share her heartbreak with a furious Serena. It killed him to know that someone in his body was hurting his fiancée. Mia was a strong person. Had it been Jayden, or Antonio, or Mike hurting her, she would have fought back without hesitating. He was her weakness. A dirty, filthy, scum of the Netherworld Nighlok was using her weakness to torture her.

"Ooh, ah, ooh, reduced to begging, are you?" Octoroo waddled around the ship, getting Kevin's next round of whatever he had planned ready. Kevin was never really sure what to expect. Sometimes it would be physical torture, sometimes emotional. Either way, it always hurt, and he couldn't stand it. "You know, blue Ranger, there is one way to make it all stop."

"I will never tell you what the secret Sealing Symbol is," Kevin shook his head. There was no way he was giving up that secret. He couldn't give Octoroo that kind of power. If he wanted the symbol that could seal the Netherworld and the Nighlok away for good, he had to have a reason for it. Kevin wouldn't do it. He would rather die.

"The funny thing is," Octoroo said with a smirk, "if, hypothetically, you do manage to escape and prove to the Rangers that the blue Ranger who hurt them was just a Nighlok, who will you blame for their suffering?"

"You," Kevin growled. "You're doing this. That Nighlok is your creation, following your orders…"

"I'm just doing what you're telling me to do," Octoroo shrugged, "If you told me the secret to the Sealing Symbol, I could end this now. I would call off my Nighlok and let your friends live in peace while I worked on my plan. You refuse to help me, and you know that your refusal is only causing them pain. You are hurting them. Why don't I let you sit on that for a bit?"

Octoroo walked away, out of Kevin's sight. Teary eyed, and unable to do anything else, Kevin turned his attention to Mia and Serena. Mike was locked in a closet, completely terrified and paralyzed, and Nighlok Kevin was torturing Emily, which Kevin couldn't watch. Mia was really the only choice now.

But it killed him. More than the Netherworld could. More than his injuries could.

-Samurai-

Serena pulled the sobbing Mia into her arms after the pink Ranger shared her story starting from the moment they walked into the house, until the moment they bumped into each other in the hallway. She felt like she was betraying Kevin and throwing him under the bus, but once Serena got her started, she couldn't stop.

"He's a monster," Serena whispered and it only made Mia cry harder, "I don't care if he was hit in the head. That doesn't justify his behaviour now. If he's worth saving, we'll get him any help he needs but Mia…"

"Don't say it…"

"For your own sake, you'll have to cut your ties with him until you know what kind of future you're looking at."

"No," Mia shook her head, and the rest of her body trembled as well. Now, not only was she losing her fiancé, but her dream of a nice, happy family were slipping away from her. There was no way any man could compete with Kevin. No relationship would ever be as good as the one she had with Kevin.

"Mia, if he slapping you for dropping _my _son, just imagine what he'll do to you when you make one mistake with his kid. If you don't get him help, and if you stick with him and support this, you're setting yourself, and everyone around you, up for a life of misery. That's not your dream life either, is it?"

"I can't…"

"I'll help you," Serena promised and squeezed her a little tighter to show her the support she needed, "I'll help you get the best life you can possibly get, I swear. You're never going to be alone."

Mia felt alone.

-Samurai-

"Brian, she's had enough," Stephanie called to her boyfriend as she, Clara, and Steve watched him beat Emily down with his fists and feet while a stranger, Emily's friend it seemed, kept her from getting away. Emily was now slumped over, trying to curl up as much as she could to protect herself from the beating.

She refused to scream. Maybe that made her beating worse, as Brian tried harder and harder to get a sound to leave her mouth, but she wouldn't give him or Kevin the satisfaction of getting what they wanted.

"She's a bitch who needs to learn her place!" Brian shouted. He punched his fist into her ribcage. "No one humiliates me!"

"I think she gets it!" Steve cried, "Dude, just let it go! You're big and mighty, we get it now. What do you want, a ribbon?"

"Shut up!" Brian shouted and turned his body away from Kevin and Emily for a minute to scream at his friends. Emily saw she had an opening. With Kevin holding her up, she didn't need her feet on the ground. With a powerful kick from both legs, she hit Brian in his side, right in his ribs. He stumbled to the ground. Kevin, seeing this, spun Emily around to yell at her for fighting back. Now that she was face to face with him, she knew where to hit him. As he tried to grab her arms again to hold her in place, Emily lifted her fist and punched him in the throat. He dropped, gasping for air.

She bolted towards the edge of the mountain. Anyone could follow her along the path back to the city and she didn't want to be followed. Knowing there was another path below, she jumped off the side of the mountain. She was already in enough pain, she didn't care how far the jump was. She landed on the lower path and rolled on the ground. When she stopped, she saw she was mere inches from rolling off the side. She would have been screwed if she had.

She got to her feet and started to run home.

On the upper ledge, Kevin held his throat in his hand and walked to the edge. He looked down and saw Emily running away. She was good, he would give him that. She was also headed home, and if she made it back, she would tell everyone what Kevin had done to her. They would never let him back into the house.

She had a head start. Kevin thought about jumping over the edge like she had done, but he had seen how she had come close to falling. Given his size, his momentum would have rolled him right off the lower edge and down the side of the mountain. If that didn't kill him, it would certainly weaken him. In any case, Emily was limping as she ran, which slowed her down. Kevin still had enough strength to run, and if he ran as fast as he could, he would catch up to her before she reached the farm. She still had a long way to run.

So he started down the path, through the forest. To his delight, they both made it to the base of the mountain at the same time.

Emily looked over her shoulder. Now he was only a few steps behind her. Whipping out her Samuraizer, she knew she needed a little push. She continued to run as she traced a symbol under her feet.

"Horse!" she shouted, spinning the symbol. Right underneath her, a horse grew up from the dirt, lifting her onto his back. Emily nearly slipped off, but squeezed her legs and grabbed the reins and steadied herself. One thing she had never lacked was the ability to ride horses.

Seeing her ride off, Kevin slowed to a stop. She would make it home, guaranteed, before he did. He kicked the dirt with his foot in frustration.

"Damn humans."


	7. They Know What He Did

Kevin, the real Kevin, could feel his heart pounding in the worst way possible.

Octoroo was in the other room, allowing Kevin to suffer in silence by watching his friends as they unknowingly fell right into Nighlok Kevin's trap.

He needed to get out. He needed to find a way back. He needed to help.

"I'm coming, Mia," he whispered as he started to work on his bonds. His hands were behind his back, tied around the mast of the ship. He couldn't see what he was doing anyways, so he kept his eyes on Mia.

He could feel blood dripping down his hands as he worked on the rope, but he couldn't feel the pain because he had no time to feel pain. Eventually, he loosened the ropes enough to slip one hand out, then the other. He got up on shaky feet. It didn't help that he was on a boat. He was up, though, and determined to leave. He thought about ripping the paper seal from his chest, but decided against it. He wouldn't help anyone if he was dead, and though the seal was a curse, he needed it to stay alive. He pressed it against his skin to make sure it was stuck where it was and then jumped through the portal.

He thought that if he jumped through the portal that showed him what was going on with Mia, he would land near her. That didn't happen. Instead, he landed in a field, with nothing around for what looked like miles. Pushing himself up to his feet, he had a look for a sign of anything. All he saw was earth, dirt, grass, hills, and more grass.

"Stupid country," he muttered. He took a step forward and then clutched his ribs, almost falling over. The seal still attached to his chest kept him from dying, but it wouldn't stop the pain. He looked down and pat the seal against his chest. It would stay stuck to him just like a regular sticker would. As long as he didn't sweat too much, or he didn't peel it off, he wouldn't die. There was a little bonus there. But the pain he felt was agonizing. Octoroo wasn't very strong or intimidating. Given his height and his… width, he didn't own the ability to be really threatening. He could barely punch himself in the face, much less anyone else.

But he was smart. The big forehead wasn't just for show, and it wasn't just because he was a squid. He had brains. He knew exactly what he was doing, what he wanted, and how to get it. Kevin would never underestimate him again. He tried to straighten himself up, but the pain was still too much. He dropped to his knees.

"No," he said and forced his body to stand. Mike was locked in a closet, scared to death. Emily had just endured a beating. Mia had been used and abused. He couldn't give up because of pain. His friends needed him to come home. They needed to know the truth. The pain, while it was strong, wouldn't kill him with the seal on his chest. He couldn't just lie down in the dirt and wait for help to come. If he did that, it was possible his Nighlok would kill his help. He had to push through, he had to be strong.

He gritted his teeth, put one foot in front of the other and started to walk.

He hoped he was walking in the right direction.

-Samurai-

Emily saw her farm was getting closer and closer, and glancing over her shoulder, Kevin was long gone. Still, she needed to get home as soon as she could, and willed her horse to go faster. The horse galloped as fast as it could go until it reached the farm and then came to a sudden stop and disappeared, throwing Emily forward as the symbol she had traced floated off into the sky. It was expired now.

"OW!" Emily cried and stared up at the sky. Was something broken? She wasn't sure. Right now she just needed to focus on breathing. In and out. In and out.

"EMILY!"

Footsteps pounded against the earth as two people ran over to her. As they came into her line of sight, blocking her view of the sky, she saw it was Jayden and Antonio.

"I'm… fine," she gasped, finally able to breathe again. She was going to be sore, but that had been a guarantee long before she had been thrown from the horse. Brian and Kevin had done a number on her. Jayden and Antonio noticed right away.

"What happened?" Antonio asked and he looked very unsure about what he wanted to do. Emily started to try and sit up, inviting them to help her. They gently pulled her up, and Jayden moved behind her so she could lean back against him. Antonio handed her his water bottle. It was almost empty, but there was a little something left for her. Emily took a sip as Antonio inspected her, "There's no way all this is from falling off a horse."

Emily shook her head and gave the water bottle back, "Flowers… lied."

"What?"

"Mike…"

"Mike did this to you?" Jayden asked. Emily shook her head again. She wouldn't let anyone believe that for a second.

"Kevin."

"Kevin?"

"There's something wrong with that guy," Antonio said and looked to Jayden, "Mia was upset this morning, Serena was pissed, now Emily."

"We'll get you inside," Jayden said to Emily and very carefully, with Antonio's help, they lifted her up and carried her into the house. Serena was in the kitchen with Mia, cooking lunch while Mia fed Terran. If the boys had been paying attention, they would have noticed the silence in the room, and Mia's inability to smile even around Terran. Instead, they focused on the empty chair at the table, and carefully set Emily down. Hearing people in her kitchen, when they should have been outside working, Serena turned around to scold them. Instead she gasped.

"Emily?"

She hurried to her sister's side while Antonio went to the freezer and collected all the frozen peas and vegetables he could find. He bought them back to Emily and set them on her head, shoulders, in her lap, and anywhere else he could get them to stay.

"I'm fine," Emily assured her sister, "You should see the other guy…"

"What happened?" Serena asked in a panic. Over her shoulder, Emily could see Mia looking over in worry as well. Suddenly, telling them about Kevin was so much harder. She would hate it if Mia came home, bloodied and bruised, and accused Mike of hurting her, even if it was true.

"Thrown off the horse."

"Did it stomp on you afterwards?" Serena asked, and judging by her tone it was obvious she knew she wasn't getting the full story. "Emily, falling off a horse is the only thing you know how to do gracefully."

"Yeah, she soared through the air like a butterfly," Antonio muttered and was jabbed in the ribs by Jayden. The red Ranger then looked to Serena.

"She mentioned Kevin."

"Kevin did this to you?" Serena shrieked. She knew he had gotten out of hand with Mia, but she couldn't imagine him going out after Emily and taking out whatever anger he had on her.

"Brian," Emily quickly said, seeing the hurt and shocked look on Mia's face. She wasn't lying anyways. Kevin had held her, but Brian had thrown the punches. "He did this."

"You said Kevin," Jayden looked at Emily confused. She shook her head.

"I had just been thrown off a horse. I need to lie down."

"Take her upstairs," Serena told the boys and they did as she asked. When they were gone, Serena turned around to Mia. She didn't buy Emily's cover story. If Kevin's name had been mentioned, it meant he had something to do with this. "That could have been you, you know."

Mia didn't say anything. She just fed Terran another spoonful of his lunch.

Serena sighed and sat down beside the pink Ranger, "I know it's not easy…"

"Kevin would never hurt Emily. He would never hurt me. He needs help," Mia insisted. "Just let him come home. I can talk to him…"

"No," Serena shook her head, "After what he did to Emily…"

"She said he didn't do it," Mia said. She put Terran's spoon down and got up, "I'm going for…"

"You're staying here," Serena grabbed Mia's arm, "You have to cut your losses…"

"NO!" Mia screamed and shoved Serena. She pulled away from her sister and stormed up the stairs. Serena let out a frustrated groaned and grabbed her hair in her hands. She hated messes like these. She could understand why Mia refused to see the bad in Kevin. Serena was struggling herself. But when there was something going on, and her friends were getting hurt, Serena needed to find the source and tear it apart. She hated accusing Kevin. She hated thinking that this was his doing, but she wouldn't sit by and let anyone suffer. If this was Kevin being a jerk, Serena had no problem taking him out. If he had just lost his mind, like Mia said, and needed help, Serena would help him by protecting Mia. It would be what he would want.

Mia stormed up the stairs and into Emily's bedroom. She saw the yellow Ranger sitting in the bed and grabbed her arms, "Kevin didn't hurt you, right?"

Emily shook her head, "No. Brian did. Who hurt you?"

Emily pointed to the faint bruise on Mia's jaw, from when Kevin had slapped her cheek.

"I was being an idiot," Mia shook her head. "You agree with me, Kevin's not a monster."

"Uh…" Emily hesitated on that one. She could truthfully say Kevin hadn't hit her, but he had turned into something scary.

"He's not a monster!" Mia shouted and started to shake Emily.

"OW! OW! OW!" Emily cried loudly. She wasn't sure what hurt exactly as Mia shook her, but she was sure it was painful, "OW! Mia, please stop! He's not a monster! He's not a monster!"

"MIA!" Jayden and Antonio grabbed her arms and ripped her away from Emily. While Jayden continued to hold her back, Antonio went to check up on Emily.

Emily's eyes were fixed on Mia. They had tears in them, from the pain, though Emily tried to hide it. She tried not to look at Mia like she had just been attacked by her, "He's not a monster."

Mia felt a wave of realization smack her right in the face when she knew Emily meant her words. All it took was a little force, her exerting her power over Emily, and suddenly the smaller girl believed exactly what Mia wanted her to believe. Mia backed away with a look of horror on her face. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe she had fallen for it. She had always thought she was stronger than that.

"Kevin hit me. Kevin's hurting me," Mia whispered and then threw her arms around Emily in a hug. "We slept together and he ignored me. He blamed me for dropping Terran and made me sleep outside, and he hit me. He hit me and it hurts."

"What's going on?" Antonio asked and saw Jayden looked just as confused, "Alright, who hit who here?"

"There's something different about Kevin," Mia whispered and let go of Emily slightly to look at the boys, "I don't know what's gotten into him, but he's changed."

Emily nodded her head, "He didn't punch me, but he held me still while Brian did. Then when I got away, he ran after me. I lost him, I don't know where he went, but he wanted to hurt me."

"You two stay in here," Antonio told them as Jayden gave him a nod, "We'll go talk to the others about this. We'll figure out what happened."

Leaving the girls together on the bed, Antonio and Jayden raced downstairs. Serena, James, and Ji were all inside, sitting around the table poking at their foods. They had been discussing something just before Jayden and Antonio arrived.

"We need to talk," Jayden said, joining the table with Antonio. "Kevin's obviously lost it."

"I knew he hurt her," Serena nodded.

"Emily says she lost him on her way home. He's out there somewhere," Antonio said. "Carefully, we bring him back here and figure out what the hell happened to make him snap."

"Or, we beat the shit out of him because he's really a wife-beating asshole," Serena muttered. James put his hand on her arm.

"Careful. We don't know the full story yet. Before you beat up the asshole, give him a chance to speak. There might be a reasonable explanation…"

"You know what comes out of an asshole's mouth? Bullshit," Serena shook her head. She pointed to the stairs, "He's hurting Mia! He beat up Emily…"

"Brian beat up Emily," Jayden clarified. Serena gave him a look to tell him to shut up.

"Did he stop it happening? Because if he didn't, I don't care if it's the freaking Easter Bunny who touched her. He's accountable!"

"Here," Ji put Terran in Serena's lap, hoping that having her son in her arms would calm her down a little bit. It worked and Ji hoped it would continue to work. Serena took a few breaths and hugged Terran close. Ji looked around the table, "We all need clear heads. Kevin is a valuable member of this team, and this family. We all agree this is out of character for him. Use caution around him, but there will be no beating the shit out of him. Worse come to worse, I will deal with him how I see fit."

"After a few of us get our hands on him, right?" Antonio asked and cracked his knuckles, "If I want to hurt him this much, I can't even guess how badly some of us want to hurt him," he looked across the table to Serena and then looked to Mike… only he didn't see Mike. He couldn't see Mike. Mike wasn't at the table.

He hadn't come to the table. No one had seen him all day.

Antonio pointed to the empty seat, "We're missing someone."


	8. One Down

Everyone was looking for Mike. They searched the fields, the barn, James and Serena even went into town to see if he had snuck off. No one could find him.

In fact, no one had seen him for hours. He had left a note for Emily asking her to meet him in the mountains, but after that went horribly wrong, and Mike had been nowhere around to rescue her, they all doubted he wrote the note.

With James and Serena searching the town, and Ji, Jayden, and Antonio searching around the farm, Mia and Emily were left inside. They doubted he was playing hide-and-seek, but every corner of the earth needed to be searched.

At least according to Emily who was staring teary eyed into the fridge. Mia walked over and gently closed the door and moved the yellow Ranger away.

"He spends a lot of time here," she agreed, "But even you're too big to squeeze yourself in there. I doubt he did."

Emily opened the freezer. Mia closed it.

"Em…"

Emily ran into the living room and started tearing the cushions off the couch. Mia rolled her eyes and caught one of the cushions before it knocked the old VCR off the top of the TV.

She had stopped searching for Mike a long time ago, and was now cleaning up the mess Emily was making. When all the cushions were gone, Emily jumped onto the couch and checked behind it. Mike wasn't there. She jumped off and flipped the couch. He wasn't under there either.

"You've checked there already," Mia reminded her. "Emy, you've checked everywhere."

Emily shook her head. She would turned the house upside down if she had to. Mia would argue she already had, had she not been cleaning up after the frantic yellow Ranger.

"Mike!" Emily cried and darted up the stairs to try again. Searching the house top to bottom was all she could do. As she reached the top of the stairs, she suddenly slipped and tumbled down. She would have fallen all the way, had Mia not been right behind her, ready to catch her.

"Careful, Emily."

Emily either didn't listen or ignored her. She tried the last few stairs again, stumbling once more. Mia was a little faster to catch her and pushed her up the rest of the way. Emily ran into the bedroom she shared with the rest of her family and started looking everywhere. She opened drawers and threw out their contents. She pulled the blankets and sheets off the bed. She checked under the bed, under the dresser, under the crib, where Terran stood and tried to watch, but a shirt had covered his head and he was trying to get it off. Mia helped the poor boy and then lifted him out of the crib.

"Emily!"

"Your room!" Emily tried running out of the room but Mia caught her arm.

"Why would he be in my room?"

"I have to find him!" Emily shouted and pulled away from Mia, "What if Kevin got him? What if whatever happened to Kevin happened to him?"

Emily stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the room and turned to Mia, "Kevin and Mike were out on their own, right?"

Mia nodded her head, "They got pulled away from the main fight. But they wouldn't lie to us. They said they defeated…"

"They could have lost," Emily whispered. Mia's eyes widened. It was true. While she had witnessed her own clone, Antonio's clone, Jayden's clone, Serena's clone, and Emily's clone all die, she hadn't seen what happened to Mike's and Kevin's. While she trusted they would have been strong enough to defeat their clones, she really had no idea.

"But Mike seems normal… unless he hurt you," Mia said. Now it wasn't making any sense. Kevin was acting strangely, but aside from the disappearing act, Mike had been… Mike.

But Mike wouldn't lie about destroying Kevin's clone. And if he doubted he did have the right Kevin, wouldn't he have brought it up? Mia's head started to hurt.

Emily tore the room apart searching for Mike. The bed, the dresser, even the pillows were searched and stripped of their cases, as if Mike could cram himself between a pillow and a case and go completely unnoticed.

"Emily…"

She didn't even hear Mia and darted over to the closet, the last place she would look before moving onto her parents' bedroom. She ripped the doors open, almost taking them off the hinges and looked inside. At first she didn't see anything. It was just Serena's old nightgowns and blankets for when she got cold.

Then she noticed something odd. Something she didn't notice the first time. The blankets had fallen to the floor. She had never seen them on the floor. She couldn't recall a single time they had been on the floor, and she would have remembered if that had occurred. There was a little step ladder tucked away in the closet just for her, just so she could reach up to the shelf and get Serena a blanket. She pulled them out of the closet and gasped. There was Mike, tied up into a ball on the floor, unconscious.

"MIKE!" she screamed and pulled him out of the closet, "MIKE!"

"Holy shit," Mia set Terran down on the floor and started to help Emily undo the ropes restraining Mike.

As the ropes came undone, Mia and Emily laid Mike out on the floor. Mia could see he wasn't breathing, and he hadn't been breathing for a while. Emily seemed convinced he would wake up soon. She seemed to think her voice would wake him up and let him know he was safe.

"Mike… Mike please," she cried and touched his cheek. Mia watched and though she knew it was useless, she couldn't give up without a fight, for Emily's sake. Kevin had taught her a bit of CPR. She knew enough to convince Emily she had tried something, but she was sure Mike was gone.

She opened his mouth but saw the cause of the problem. Emily had removed the gag from his mouth as soon as she had pulled him out of the closet, but it seemed that hadn't been the only thing keeping him quiet. Stuffed in his mouth was a cloth, and it was lodged into the back of his throat. With his knees pressed into his chest, the gag, and the cloth in his mouth, as well as his claustrophia, Mia knew Mike had suffocated.

"Do something!" Emily shouted when she saw Mia was still. Mia shook her head and pulled the cloth out of Mike's mouth. She set it down on the floor and then wrapped her arms around Emily.

"I'm sorry…"

"NO!"

-Samurai-

Kevin, the real Kevin, dropped to his knees to catch his breath. He would live through the pain, he just needed to walk through it. He needed to get to the others and let them know his Nighlok was among them.

He sat down in the dirt and breathed heavily. He would sit for a couple of minutes and then he would push through. He closed his eyes, but stayed sitting up so he wouldn't fall asleep.

A bark made him open his eyes. He looked around and saw Storm running over to him. He had no idea where she had come from, but there was no way she was far from the team. Storm approached him and then sniffed his hand. Satisfying herself that this was Kevin her friend, she bit his shirt and started to pull. She didn't know what was going on around the house, but her humans had been acting very weird.

"I'm coming," Kevin grunted and got to his feet. Storm ran off ahead, but would turn back to make sure he was close behind her. Kevin took a few steps and then heard the crow of a rooster. "Chickens?"

He climbed a small slope and found himself standing before a fence. Storm ran under it, but Kevin would have to climb over it. It hurt; it hurt like hell. He pulled his body up and over the wooden fence and then dropped to the other side. He was so tired.

Then something pecked his face. Kevin would cry out in pain, but his body hurt so much already it was pointless. Instead he just turned his head and found himself staring at a chicken. Storm barked and chased the bird away. Then she bit Kevin's shirt again and tried to pull him up. Kevin got up and had another look around.

He was on a farm. There were more chickens running around, and cows, and goats, and horses, as well as a field for crops. There was a barn and a house.

A house. He recognized the house from the portals. The Rangers were staying there. It was Emily and Serena's house.

He picked up the dog and kissed her head, "I love you. I love you. I love you."

Carrying the dog in his arms, he mustered up whatever energy was left and raced to the house.

"Guys!" he called as soon as he opened the door, "Someone? Anyone?"

He leaned against the wall. Now that he was back his job of surviving was done. The seal would keep him alive, but he could collapse from the pain. He just needed to stay conscious to let the others know this was a trick, he was the real Kevin, and the Nighlok Kevin was the one tearing them apart.

He heard someone stomping down the stairs. Before he knew what was happening, or who was approaching him, he was grabbed by the shirt and slammed back into the door. He cried out in pain and looked to see who had attacked him.

"You son of a bitch!" Mia slammed him into the door again. Kevin held his hands up. He should have expected a reaction like this, especially from her.

"Mia! Mia, it's me! It's Kevin!"

"Liar!"

"Octoroo kidnapped me! It was all a trick. Look at me, Mia."

Mia did stop and had a look at him. He looked terrible, like someone had put him through a blender and beaten the shit out of him. He looked like he should be dead. Kevin pointed to the seal on his chest.

"Don't take it off. Whatever you do, don't touch it."

"Why?" Mia still looked very angry with him, but at least she wasn't slamming him into anything anymore.

"It's a seal from Octoroo. It kept me live in the Netherworld. It's keeping me alive now. Octoroo wanted to know the Sealing Symbol."

"You're lying," Mia shook her head, "I can't trust you. You hurt me, you hurt Em, you killed Mike!"

"It wasn't me! It was the Nighlok! Mia, I… I killed Mike? What? What does that even mean?"

"He's dead, you asshole!"

"No, I…" Kevin shook his head. She was wrong. She had to be. Mike had been tied up and locked away, sure, but he couldn't have been dead. That couldn't have killed him.

"You're a fucking traitor!"

"Mia! Mia, please listen to me," he touched her face and she flinched away, as though she had been hit. She let go of him and backed away. Kevin started to tear up, "I'm so sorry."

"You hit me," Mia started to cry as well, "You hit me and you… you killed Mike. Your brother!"

"I didn't. Mia, I swear, I… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Mia wiped away her tears and looked up the stairs. Then she turned back to Kevin. She saw the tears coming down his cheeks, and the way he was looking at her. She hadn't seen that look since the Shiba House came down and the Nighlok were defeated.

Then she looked at his body. His shirt was gone, exposing the many gashes, burns, and bruises. His shorts had been torn, almost just as badly as the rest of his body. He was barefoot. He was tired. He was sore. He was beaten down.

He was Kevin. She knew it. She could see it now. This was her Kevin.

"It… it wasn't you?" she asked. He shook his head.

"There was a mix up when Mike and I fought our Nighloks. He thought… he thought I was the Nighlok and he tried to kill me. The Nighlok spared me though, for Octoroo. I've been down in the Netherworld since. I would never hurt you, Mia. I swear."

Mia jumped into his arms, but then ended up being the one to catch him as his legs gave out. She walked him over to the couch, struggling to support all his weight. When she sat him down, she asked him if he needed anything. He pointed to the seal, and re-explained to her how it would keep him alive, no matter what. Mia nodded and then rushed into the kitchen. She was in a house where a former yellow Ranger, a woman who had been critically ill, and a girl who could hurt herself with nothing more than a fluffy pillow lived. Surely there was a first aid kit somewhere.

She found one by the sink and started to tend to Kevin's wounds. The seal on his chest would keep him alive, but she wanted to do everything she could to speed up his recovery.

The front door opened as she knelt to work on him.

"We checked the barn. He's not there," Antonio's voice announced. Mia didn't bother getting up. She told Jayden, Ji, and Antonio to head upstairs. Emily was still sitting with Mike. They could put the pieces together once they saw what had happened.

"Who are they looking for?" Kevin asked.

"This might hurt," Mia said as she rubbed one of Kevin's bigger wounds with disinfectant. Kevin didn't flinch. His pain had reached a max.

"Mia, who are they looking for? Who else is missing?"

"Antonio, Jayden, and Ji were in the barn," Mia said, but she didn't answer Kevin's question at all.

"James?" he asked.

"Who do you think?" Mia wrapped a bandage around his leg and looked up, "Mike."

"You didn't find him? He was just…"

"We didn't know he was missing," Mia said. Kevin rubbed his face with his hands. He had seen quite a bit through the portals, but most of his focus had been on Mia. Mia sighed, "Apparently there was a note left for Emily this morning. The guys thought it was from Mike. He invited her to the mountains for a lunch date. Everyone thought he was out there setting it up. No one noticed he was gone."

"You said he was dead."

Mia nodded sadly and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "Everyone started to look for him. James and Serena went into the town, the boys searched the fields and the barn. Emily and I looked in here. By the time we got to him, he had suffocated. There was a rag caught in the back of his throat, and the way he was tied would have made it hard for him to breathe. To top it all off, he was probably panicked. He was locked in the closet."

"He's claustrophobic," Kevin breathed out sadly and then shook his head, "but he can't be dead."

"I know a dead body when I see one."

"Mia…"

"Let me just… fix you up, okay," Mia insisted and started to wrap his chest with bandages. She wanted to cover the seal, to ensure it wouldn't come off. She went around him several times with the bandage and then asked, "Is it too tight?"

"It's fine."

"Lie down. Get some rest. I'll explain what happened to the others."

Emily's loud scream echoed through the house and more tears flooded down Mia's cheeks. Kevin watched sadly. He pulled Mia into his arms.

The seal wasn't working properly. A little part of him died. He kissed her cheek and held her warmly, ignoring all the pain in his body because it hurt more to watch her cry.


	9. To Trick A Trickster

Kevin hadn't wanted to fall asleep, but Mia insisted he did. He had pushed his body well beyond its limits, and she knew he should have been long dead. Right now he needed rest. His body would fight to keep him alive, and she had done what she could to help him.

She was cleaning up the first aid kit – or what was left of it. She had used up almost everything inside on Kevin. He looked like a mummy from ancient Egypt, but at least she knew he would be okay, even if it took a long time for him to get there.

The door to the house swung open as Serena and James rushed in. Mia hadn't called them, too busy with Kevin, but she was sure Ji, Jayden, or Antonio had. She was sure they knew exactly what had happened.

"Where is she?" Serena asked as she ran into the living room, looking for Emily. Then she saw Kevin, laid up on the couch. Unaware this was the real Kevin, she looked to Mia furiously.

Mia shook her head, "The other Kevin is a Nighlok. We got the wrong one."

"Mia…"

"I know what this sounds like," Mia said, "I didn't believe him at first either, but it's true. He's not the Nighlok."

"You defeated the Nighlok," Serena turned to James and he nodded his head.

"We saw them die."

"Not Mike's and Kevin's," Mia reminded him, "They strayed, they got confused, Mike trusted the wrong Kevin," Mia stood protectively before her Kevin, though Serena and James both seemed to be backing down. They were starting to believe her, "Please… please guys…"

"I'll believe you," Serena nodded. She could see how badly beaten Kevin was, and couldn't imagine how much worse it looked under all the bandages. The Nighlok would go to any length to take the Rangers out, but even this seemed too far. "Just tell me where my sister is."

"Upstairs," Mia whispered and Serena bolted away to find her sister. Mia turned back to the couch and took Kevin's hand, sinking down to her knees. James approached her from behind and knelt with her. He wrapped his arms around her.

"What happened?"

"He says Octoroo kidnapped him. He wanted to know the Sealing Symbol."

"The Sealing…" James sighed, "That's starting to be more trouble than it's worth."

"Octoroo's good," Mia whispered, "But he underestimated Kevin's strength and loyalty."

Mia placed her hand on Kevin's chest, where the seal that was keeping him alive was hidden under the bandages, "He should be dead."

"He's not. We're lucky he's not."

"We're not lucky," Mia shook her head, "Octoroo doesn't want him dead. There's a seal keeping him alive. It's on him, right here. If we take it off… he might die."

"Then we don't take it off," James wrapped his arms around Mia and gave her a little squeeze, "We wait until his body is strong enough to fight on its own. We won't let anything happen to him. You're not going to lose him."

-Samurai-

Upstairs, Serena was leaning over Emily, trying to pull her away from Mike's body. It was obvious now he was dead, and there was nothing anyone could do for him. Emily, though, seemed to be clinging onto him like he still had a chance if she was holding him.

"Emy…"

"NO!" she screamed loudly and shrugged her sister's hands away from her shoulders.

"He's gone, Emy…"

"He's not," Emily held on a little tighter, "He can't be. He's Mike! He's tricking us! It's a joke. It's funny! Wake up now, Mike. We all fell for it. Wake up!"

"Emily," Ji knelt beside her. Emily hugged Mike tight and refused to look at her mentor. She knew what he was going to say. Ji didn't say it, though. He tried to gently separate her from Mike, but then had to force them apart. Emily screamed loudly and Serena was forced to watch slowly as her baby sister was torn away from the one person she loved more than anything. As soon as contact between Emily and Mike was broken, the screaming stopped. Emily's mouth closed but her tear ducts opened wide. She got to her feet and stormed out of the room. Serena jumped up and went after her.

Antonio fell next to Mike's body, "He can't be gone. There needs to be a way…"

"Unfortunately, there's nothing anyone can do," Ji sighed. He gently lifted Mike's body off the floor and set him down in the bed. It was a little more comfortable.

"But Mentor, he can't just…" Antonio trailed off when Jayden's hand touched his shoulder. He turned around and saw his boyfriend nodding his head. Antonio shook his, like it would change the truth, "No, he can't. We're Power Rangers. We don't die."

"I'm sorry, Antonio."

"No," Antonio continued to shake his head, "There's a way. We defeat the Nighlok or use a symbol or…"

"Even the strongest symbols can't bring the dead back to life," Jayden whispered. He pulled Antonio in for a hug, "I'm sorry."

-Samurai-

Serena watched her little sister with tears in her eyes. Emily was holding her breath. She would make herself dizzy and would pass out if she was really determined to go all the way, but she wouldn't kill herself. Serena was sure she wanted to, though.

"Emy, please…"

Emily shook her head. Her face was red; her body was shaking and begging for her to breathe in. Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer. She gasped for breath.

"It's hard, I know…"

Emily crawled onto her bed and buried herself under the blankets. Serena sat down beside her and tried to pull the blankets off.

"Emily…"

Emily pushed her off the bed and retreated back under the blankets. Serena got back up and returned to the bed. She wrapped her arms around the bundle of blankets that was her sister.

"I'm sorry."

She hugged her sister until Emily's sobs stopped. Then she pulled the blankets away from her face and saw she was sleeping. She double checked her breathing, just to make sure she actually was just sleeping. When she was sure she tucked her sister in and headed downstairs. Mia was in the kitchen making a meal for when Kevin woke up. She was sure he was hungry and his body would need the energy. She would do anything to see him heal up quickly.

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you Nighlok Kevin needs to be stopped," Serena whispered and Mia nodded her head.

"I've been thinking about that," she said, "and I have a plan."

The boys were on their way down the stairs when they heard this, "Nighlok Kevin?"

Serena and Mia nodded and explained quickly. It was hard for the boys to understand at first, but the more they thought about the strange things going on since the doubles had turned up, the more it made sense.

"So what's your plan?" Ji asked Mia. She turned off the heat on the stove, leaving her meal in the pan to be reheated later when Kevin woke up. She sat down at the table, "I'm going to go out and look for him."

"No," Serena shook her head. Mia insisted.

"He might think you're onto him. You did kick him out. Emily will know to stay away from him. And if you boys choose him, he might think something's up. Serena surely would have spread her suspicions about him by now. I'm the hopelessly in love idiot."

"It might work," James took a seat beside Mia and wrapped his arm around her. He had been downstairs with her and they had discussed the plan. He tried to think of an alternative one, but this seemed to be the plan with the best chance of success. "Kevin thinks Mia trusts him. Even after the hiccup with Serena kicking him out, if Mia runs back to him first chance she gets, he might think he's got some level of control over her."

"So where does that bring us?" Serena asked and slammed her fist into the table as she glared at Mia, "I am _not_ letting you go to that son of a bitch just to get hit again."

"I'll convince him to come back here," Mia said. "I'll tell him I can change your minds."

"He beat up my little sister," Serena shook her head, "I'm not letting him near this house. Period."

"We'll say she never came home," James said and looked up the stairs, "Odds are she'll be locked up there for a while anyways. We'll say she never came home and we think she's still out with Mike."

"Only one problem," Serena growled, "**I'm not letting him near my house!**"

"Serena, look at me," James reached across the table and took her hands, "I know you want him to stay away, but we need to try this. If Mia can lure him in, you can beat him to death. I'll actually let you kill this one."

She was tempted. Her heart screamed yes, her head said no. Logically, it was stupid bringing Nighlok Kevin back to the house after he had succeeded in killing Mike, beating up Emily, and reducing Mia to a fearful mess. The team needed a break.

But she wanted him dead. She needed him dead. For the safety of her friends and family, and for her own satisfaction, she wanted to see him die.

"Fine," Serena whispered and crossed her arms over her chest, "But if he hurts anyone…"

"He's dead," James assured her. Serena breathed a heavy sigh and then gave Mia a nod. Faster than anyone had ever seen before, Mia ran out to start searching.

Serena flicked her thumb to the living room, where Kevin was asleep, "Hide him too. We won't be convincing if we have the real Kevin lurking around."

Jayden and Antonio gave her a little nod and then started to work on getting the real Kevin upstairs.

James scooted around the table and sat down beside Serena. He hugged her warmly and could see she was on the edge of losing it. Everyone had been through a lot recently, but he knew she had a habit of putting things on her shoulders, especially when her sister was involved."

"You just focus on acting," he kissed her cheek, "Everything will fall into place, I know it will."

"Lies," Serena shook her head, "Mike's dead."

Serena got up and walked over to the couch. If she felt this badly for Mike's passing, she couldn't imagine how her sister felt. She could barely breathe. It was no wonder Emily tried to suffocate herself.

James sat down beside Serena and pulled her into his arms, "It's going to hurt for a really, really long time. But we'll never forget him. We'll keep going. Mike would want that for us."

-Samurai-

Mia had no idea where to look for Kevin, but she was a Samurai and he was a Nighlok – he would be able to find her. Nighlok always found the Samurai they were looking for.

"What did you tell her?" Mia jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice and felt his hand grab her arm. She spun around, he didn't look happy.

"N-nothing," she sounded pathetic, she knew she did.

"So Serena just snaps at me for no reason?" Kevin asked. "I guess it's all over now…"

"No, no, never," Mia insisted as she shook her head, "I talked to her. I… if you just come home and…"

"You want me back there?" Kevin looked to her strangely, "They'll let me come home?"

"I'll stand up for you, I promise," Mia nodded. "You hit your head pretty hard the other day. I know you're better than this. We'll get you the help you need. Help at home. I can convince the others you just need a little support."

"Why would they take me back?" Kevin thought this was strange. He had seen Emily get away, and that had been after he had been kicked out of the house. Surely her story would convince the other Samurai to kick his ass, not that he thought they could, but this wasn't adding up.

Mia knew he didn't believe her, and he wasn't asking questions about Emily or Mike. She needed to somehow get them in there, without making it obvious she knew he would be thinking of them.

"Well, I'll have to convince Mike and Emily when they get home. But if we talk to Serena and the guys first, they'll be easier to…"

"Mike and Emily?"

Mia nodded, "They went out to lunch. The guys said you found Mike's note for Emily. They haven't come back yet, but knowing them they'll be out all night. Maybe even well into tomorrow."

"And so you think you can convince Serena and the boys to let me back into the house? After all the trouble I've caused?"

Mia nodded her head, "You haven't been causing trouble. You just need a little help. Head injuries can be pretty serious. I can convince them that deep down, you're still the same, wonderful Kevin they knew."

"How will you convince them of that? Serena seems to have her mind made up…"

"I see who you really are. I know you, Kevin. Please," she touched his arm, "Come home with me. I won't let them hurt you. I won't let them kick you out…"

"It's getting late," Kevin looked up at the sky. Stars were starting to pop out. "Farm work is pretty tiring. Why don't we head home tomorrow? Everyone will be more… equipped to deal with whatever's been going on."

Mia shook her head, "We should head home…"

Kevin slapped her cheek, "I said we're going home tomorrow," he watched and waited for her reaction. This was too good to be true. He should have been found out by now, and yet here Mia was, begging for him to come back, insisting he was still a good person and he just needed a kind hand from the Samurai.

Mia held her cheek with her hand and looked up at Kevin hurt, "Please, don't do that, Kevin," she begged him, "You're better than this."

Kevin looked to her curiously. It seemed she really did believe in him.

"You're not listening to me," he shook his head and grabbed her roughly by the back of the neck, "We'll find somewhere else to stay tonight. The others are probably tired," he smacked her again, this time on the back of the head, "Stop being so selfish."

"Sorry," she whispered. Still with his hand on her neck, he pushed her forward and held her head down, so she was forced to look at the ground as she walked. He led her back to the mountains, where he would find a place for them to spend the night. In the morning he would figure out what he wanted to do – if he really wanted to risk going back home.


	10. The Nighlok's Defeat

Trust, Nighlok Kevin had told her. He said that if he was going to rely on her to help him recover, he needed to be able to trust her.

And he said he couldn't trust her unless she trusted him. So Mia woke up that morning in the same position she had fallen asleep in, (not that she had really slept). Her arms were bound and pulled high over her head, suspended by a tree branch above. Her feet were also bound tightly and there was a blindfold over her eyes. She felt helpless, but Nighlok Kevin told her that was good. If she felt helpless and allowed him to take care of her, he would know she trusted him completely. Mia fought back a bit, insisting he didn't need to do this, but he had his way.

"Wake up," she felt a light slap across the face. Why did he always pick the face, she had to wondered. Then he opened her mouth and stuffed something into it. It was warm. It was food. He was feeding her breakfast.

"I've thought about your suggestion," he told her as she chewed, "convincing the others I need help. What if I like who I am now?"

She swallowed, "You're not you…"

"And if I like that? If I'm happy with whatever this… head injury turned me into? Are you happy with that? We are getting married. Marriage is about loving someone, for better or for worse. In sickness and in health. Do you still love me, or do you love me because you think you can get me back to who I was before?"

Mia hesitated with her answer, unsure what the right thing to say was. She pulled a little against the ropes, "You're hurting me."

He grabbed her face, "Do you still love me?"

"Do you still love me?" maybe if she turned the question around, she could go home.

"How I feel about you makes no difference anymore. If this relationship is going to continue, you will need to commit yourself to me."

"You wear the pants?"

"Of course I'm wearing pants!"

"I mean, you're in charge. If I do what you say… you'll be happy?"

"Yes," Kevin answered. Mia looked in his direction, but couldn't see anything because of the blindfold.

"There's just one problem, if I don't come home, the others will come look for me. I'm supposed to be back by now, with or without you."

Suddenly her arms dropped in front of her, and then the ropes around her wrists fell away. Same with her feet. Kevin grabbed her neck and pushed her forward.

"Tell them you aren't coming back."

"You'll have to come with me. Show them we'll be happy together, that way they'll know to leave us alone. Then I'll leave with you. I promise."

"Do I…"

"Me leaving will hurt them," Mia hated to toot her own horn, even if it was to help her friends; "They've relied on me for a lot. I've got to let them know I won't be there for them anymore. That I've chosen you over them."

"Then let's go," Kevin pushed her along.

-Samurai-

"Emily, you have a special visitor," the door to Emily's room opened as Terran wobbled in, with Serena right behind him. She was coming into the room to get him ready for the day, and she hoped having him around would cheer Emily up just a little.

Emily buried herself under the blankets and didn't say a word. Serena sighed. She hadn't spoken since Mike had been ripped from her arms. She was worried Emily had fallen back into a silence.

Serena lifted Terran onto the bed and then started to look for clothes for both her son and her sister, "There's work to be done. Maybe that'll take your mind off Mike for a bit. You know he wouldn't want you slipping away from us. He would be the first to tell you to stay strong."

Serena looked to the bed and saw Emily hadn't moved. Terran was trying to figure out if the hard lump of blankets was actually his aunt.

"Emily, c'mon," Serena dropped some clothes on the bed and pulled the blankets away. Exposing Emily. For Terran, it was like a magic trick and he looked up at his mother to see if she would do it again.

Serena did do another trick. Emily jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. Serena had made her disappear.

"Emily…" Serena sighed. She lifted Terran off the bed and then called for James to come and get him changed. When her fiancé arrived in the room, Serena went to look for Emily. She found her with Mike. She lay in the bed with him and had wrapped herself up in his arms. Serena couldn't imagine it was comfortable. Mike's body was cold now. Emily was whispering something to him. Serena couldn't quite catch what she was saying. _Great, _she thought, _she talks to the dead._

Serena approached the bed and put her hand on her sister's shoulder, "Come with me, Emily."

Emily shook her head and buried her face in Mike's chest.

"Serena!" Jayden called from downstairs and it sounded urgent. Expecting Mia to come home any minute, Serena hoped it was time to end Kevin's Nighlok once and for all. She gave her sister a kiss on the cheek and against her better judgement she left her in Mike's arms. She bolted down the stairs and saw everything falling into place. Kevin, Mike, and Emily were all upstairs. Even James was hidden away on the second floor with Terran. The only people ready to face the Nighlok were the ones strong enough to do so.

Nighlok Kevin shoved Mia forward, "Tell them."

Serena stood beside Jayden and whispered in his ear, "I don't want him running away. He dies or we die."

Jayden nodded and pulled out his Samuraizer behind his back. He traced several of the protective symbols and sent them to surround the farm. Kevin, the Nighlok, couldn't cross them. There would be no running away. It was do or die.

For everyone.

Mia, seeing the protective symbols were activated, knew it was safe to defy Kevin. She shook her head and went to stand with her friends. Serena pulled her in protectively.

"We know what you're up to, Nighlok," Antonio said, "You're not messing with us anymore."

"A trap?" the Nighlok looked to Mia angrily, "You led me right into a trap. I controlled you!"

Serena pulled Mia behind her and stormed over to Kevin. She shoved him into the wall, "Say that again about my sister. I dare you."

"I control…" Kevin head was slammed back into the wall. Serena then lifted her knee, hitting him between the legs. As he collapsed from the pain she looked over her shoulder at Mia.

"Now he's got a head…" Serena's legs were suddenly taken out from under her and she hit the ground hard. She was forced to take a minute to catch her breath while the Nighlok went to another Samurai and attacked. He grabbed Jayden by the arm, but the red Ranger fought back. While Nighlok Kevin was distracted with Jayden, Antonio attacked him from behind.

-Samurai-

Upstairs, as Emily lay with Mike, she could hear there was something going on downstairs. There were grunts and cries from her friends, and things were being smashed and knocked over. Emily hugged Mike a little closer, hoping he could hide her away from all the chaos going on.

Mike didn't do anything. He wouldn't do anything, he was dead. She sat up and looked down at him. At the very least, he looked peaceful.

The door opened as James walked in with Terran. James didn't want to leave Emily alone while there was a fight going on downstairs. He wasn't sure what exactly was happening, but he knew that if she was seen, Nighlok Kevin would know Mia had lied to him. Then again, if there was a fight going on, Nighlok Kevin had already assumed that. Still, James wouldn't leave Emily by herself.

"It never goes away," he told her, "but it'll get easier."

Emily didn't say anything. She just continued to stare at Mike, hoping this was all just a lie and he would come back to her.

There was a knock on the door. She didn't hear it but James did. It was Kevin, and he had a confused look on his face.

"What's going on?"

At the sound of his voice, Emily's head snapped up. Kevin, he was responsible for everything. He had beaten her, surely he had been the one to tie Mike up and kill him. In fact, she didn't doubt that fact at all. With poisonous eyes she looked at him. Kevin saw her glaring daggers his way and held his hands up.

"I know what you're thinking, Emily. I'm sorry."

Emily jumped off the bed and lunged for Kevin. James was quick to grab her and hold her back.

"Nighlok! Kevin was a Nighlok! He hurt Mike, not our Kevin!"

"Octoroo kidnapped me," Kevin explained and showed Emily all the bandages and scars, "I would never hurt you, Mia, or Mike. Please, Emily…"

Emily struggled and pulled. It was hard for James to hold onto her, especially with Terran in his arms as well. He looked over to Kevin. He was going to have to let her go.

"Run downstairs. Mia brought the Nighlok home."

"What?"

"RUN!" James cried and let go of Emily. Seeing nothing but rage in her eyes, Kevin knew it was best to listen to James and he took off running, Emily hot on his trail. Kevin ran as fast as he could down the stairs, nearly tripping several times, but he reached the bottom and ran right into the crowd of Samurai and right past his Nighlok look-a-like. Emily made it down the stairs only a few seconds after he did and saw him running to her friends – specifically to Mia. Then she laid eyes on what seemed to be impossible – but she knew it was true. There was a second Kevin. Instantly she knew this was the Kevin who hurt her, who hurt Mia, and who killed Mike. She shifted her target to Nighlok Kevin. She wanted to kill him.

"Emily!" Serena tried to stop her, terrified Emily was in no condition to fight, but before she could do anything, Emily was already locked in a battle with him, and her rage gave her the upper hand. Nighlok Kevin, as many times as he hit her, couldn't hurt her.

"I will end you," he cried as he staggered back, clutching his ribs after Emily kicked him. Emily didn't give him much time between attacks and was already lunging for him again. He had to move quickly, he knew he did. As she came towards him he held out his arm, catching her by the neck and then he lifted her up. Emily couldn't breathe. She grabbed his arm and tried to pull her weight up and she kicked her legs out, hoping to hit Kevin and he would let her go. Without lowering her to the ground, he pulled her in closer, "Find the boyfriend, yet? He's not in the mountains, I promise you that."

"Put her down, Nighlok," Serena growled and Nighlok Kevin saw he was surrounded. The Samurai stood around him, all ready to attack if he didn't heed Serena's warning. James had come down and was standing on the last steps. He too looked ready to kill.

Even Terran, the little baby, looked to Nighlok Kevin angrily as his aunt fought to breathe.

Emily's vision started to blur, but she had one last chance to win this fight. She let go of his arm with one hand and reached into her back pocket and wrapped her hand tightly around her Samuraizer. As she pulled it out, her Spin Sword took its place in her hand. With all the strength she had left, knowing she had nothing to lose, she swung her sword, aiming for the Nighlok's neck.

But she wasn't strong enough to leave more than a little nick in his skin, and she was losing more and more strength every second. Her friends were coming in around her to help defeat the Nighlok, but they didn't kill him. Before her vision went black, Emily saw Mike push her sword through the Nighlok's neck, cutting it right off his shoulders. With the Nighlok gone, his hold around her neck loosened and she dropped to the floor.

"Symbol Power! Flames!" Jayden shouted. He wanted to be sure the Nighlok was gone. Cutting his head off wasn't enough. His body, everything, needed to be destroyed. Flames engulfed the monster and as they died away, Kevin disappeared.

"That's… awkward," Kevin muttered and looked to Jayden. The red Ranger tucked his Samuraizer away.

"Sorry for… killing you."

"Had to be done," Kevin shrugged his shoulders and looked to the burn marks on the floor. Mia wrapped her arms around him and nestled into him. He could tell she was upset. Everyone seemed upset.

Serena dropped beside her sister and pulled her into her arms. Emily's vision was coming back to her. She hugged Serena tightly but she was looking around for Mike. She had seen him. He had saved her. He had been right there in front of her.

"Mike?" she coughed out and pulled away from Serena, hoping to get a better look around the house. Mike was nowhere to be seen. She rushed upstairs and into his room. His body was exactly as she had left it.

"I guess," Antonio whispered as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, "sometimes defeating the Nighlok doesn't bring everything back to normal."

Downstairs, Kevin leaned over and kissed Mia, "I'm so sorry…"

"It wasn't you," she shook her head, "It's okay."

Kevin shifted slightly and to his horror he saw Mia flinch. He couldn't believe it. Well, he could, but he couldn't. She was saying one thing, and he knew she wanted to mean it, but it was obvious the opposite was true. He backed away from her, tears in his eyes. If he had only been stronger. If he had only gotten home sooner …

"_Who will you blame for their suffering?"_

_"You," Kevin growled. "You're doing this. That Nighlok is your creation, following your orders…"_

_"I'm just doing what you're telling me to do," Octoroo shrugged, "If you told me the secret to the Sealing Symbol, I could end this now. I would call off my Nighlok and let your friends live in peace while I worked on my plan. You refuse to help me, and you know that your refusal is only causing them pain. You are hurting them."_

"It's my fault," he whispered, "I could have done something. I… I let it happen."

"Kevin, no," Mia shook her head, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I love you. I trust you…"

"You… you can't," Kevin turned around and tried to run away from the house. Mia caught him by the arm and pulled him back in. He raised his hand, only trying to pull himself free but Mia flinched again. She saw the horror on his face after she flinched and tried to pull him in a little closer.

"Kevin, I…"

"Let me go."

"I don't want to," Mia shook her head. She finally got him close enough to throw her arms around his neck and hold him tight. She wouldn't let him go.

"Please stay, Kevin," Jayden begged him, "You won't help anyone by leaving."

Kevin held his hands away from Mia. He was terrified to touch her. His hands, though they belonged to a Nighlok, had hurt her. He would never let his hands hurt her in any way again.

"I just… I need a minute," Kevin said, hoping she would let go. She didn't, but Jayden came around and pulled her away from him. Then he gestured to the stairs.

"You can take it in mine and Antonio's room," he said, "Just please don't leave the house."

Kevin nodded and looked to Mia's eyes. He could see she didn't want him to go.

"I'll stay. Just… give me a minute."

With that he went up the stairs and everyone heard the door close.


	11. Given Another Chance

The house was… not under attack anymore.

It had been a few days since Nighlok Kevin had been discovered and destroyed. The Samurai were still hurting from the damage he had left behind, but they were pushing through as much as they could.

Serena, James, Jayden, Ji, and Antonio were working on the farm, using the crops, the animals, and all the others chores as a distraction during the day. It was a lot of work, but it was better than sitting inside and sulking about the way life was turning out.

Kevin and Mia spent most of their days indoors. Kevin was still very hesitant around Mia, but both of them were trying their best to come together. Kevin still had Octoroo's seal on his chest, certain he would die without it, so he spent most of his days on the couch, letting his body recover as much as it could. Mia was by his side constantly, treating his wounds, changing his bandages, and giving him everything and anything he needed.

And in the rare moments she took too long, or made a mistake, or forgot she had something to do, Kevin never raised his hand to hit her. He never even thought about it. He was lucky to have her, he was lucky to be loved by her. He would never, ever make her think it was the other way around. Whenever she wasn't helping him recover, she would sit with him and wrap herself up in his arms. She would flinch occasionally when he moved, but she was getting better. She knew he never hurt her. She knew he never would.

She also knew that if he did, if something in his head snapped and he ever laid a hand on her, she had a team to fall back on. Serena, especially, had stepped up for her, and both Mia and Kevin were grateful for that.

Upstairs, Emily was the only one not bouncing back as quickly. Mike's body had been taken away and his ashes were brought back to her. She spent all her time upstairs, clutching his urn to her chest and begging for him to come back. She had seen him, she knew she had.

She spoke only to him, or about him. She had tried to convince the others Mike had been the one to kill Kevin, that he had stood right there with them, but no one believed her. Serena had even gone as far as saying Emily had been hallucinating from the lack of oxygen. She must have seen what she wanted to see.

They didn't believe her and Emily didn't believe them. She stayed locked in her room, away from them. Unless she wanted to talk about how Mike was still alive, how he was waiting for everyone to help, she wouldn't say a word to anyone. Terran hadn't even heard his aunt's voice since before Mike had died, no matter how hard he tried to play with her.

Outside, Serena was with the boys and they were spending time with the horses. Working together, the chores had been finished quickly, and they had a chance to play around a bit on the farm and with the animals. Serena had brought out a bag of carrots and apples and was showing the boys how to feed a horse. Though they had all been trained to ride one as Samurai, they had never been asked to care for one, or feed one before.

"Hold it tight," Serena said to Antonio, but as the horse brought his lips close to Antonio's hands, the gold Ranger freaked out and dropped the carrot.

"Are you sure he won't bite me?"

Serena rolled her eyes. She picked up the carrot, before the horse could steal it from the ground, and snapped it in half, making smaller pieces.

"Here," she put one piece in Antonio's palm and had him hold his hand out flat, "The horse's teeth won't even touch you. Just the lips. And it doesn't hurt, it tickles."

"Promise?" Antonio looked to Serena.

"Emily was feeding horses when she was two," Serena said, "Man up and let the horse eat. You're being mean."

Antonio held his hand out for the horse and closed his eyes. He felt something brush against his palm and then heard a loud crunch. He opened his eyes in horror, but his hand was still at the end of his arm. The carrot was gone.

"That did tickle," he smiled and took the other piece from Serena's hand, "I want to do it again."

"Make sure you spread it around," Serena told him, "I don't need you spoiling my horses."

"But this one's cute," Antonio gently stroked the horse between the eyes, "He's my new best friend. He deserves to be spoiled."

"And you said horses scared you," Serena gave Antonio a pat on the head, "Now your best friend is a horse."

"And that thing," Antonio pointed to the goat, who earlier wouldn't stop rubbing his head against Antonio's side.

"He's our oldest. Born days after Emily, actually," Serena furrowed her brow, "I thought he was dead."

"He's alive and kicking," Antonio assured her. Serena chuckled.

"Careful around him. He'll eat your scarf."

"Serena, the cow's looking at me funny," Jayden backed away from his horse when he noticed one of the cows had her eyes fixed on him. "What does she want?"

"I've never figured her out," Serena laughed, "But she's a cow, she's always got a funny look. She doesn't seem angry or frightened. Don't mind her."

"I'd love it if you pissed her off and she started to chase you," James threw a look Jayden's way and smirked, "Mighty red Ranger beaten down by a cow…"

"Would not be a funny headline in the newspaper," Jayden shook his head, "I'm good."

Serena chuckled and then turned her attention to Ji, who had been quiet for a long time. He was working hard trying to help his friends rebuild the Shiba House from a distance, as well as trying to come up with a way to reach Mike's family to let them know what had happened. His parents still weren't aware their son was dead. It was one of his responsibilities as mentor to contact them, but it was one he never wished he needed to do.

She walked over to him and put a hand on his back, "Are you okay?"

"Just thinking," he looked to the second story of the house. Serena put her head on his shoulder.

"Everything's going to be fine," she promised. "It's going to be hard, but we'll come back. Animals are very therapeutic. Even Terran's having fun."

Serena gestured to James and Terran, who were learning all about horses. Terran seemed to be more interested in the horse's mane than anything else though, and was trying to reach it and pull on it.

"We should get Emily to come outside."

Serena shook her head, "She won't talk to me, she won't listen to me. She just keeps talking to that stupid urn," she moved away from Ji and sighed, "If I didn't have a heart, I would take it from her when she fell asleep."

"Is she still talking about Mike not being dead?"

"She's hurting, Ji. She's hurting a lot. I don't know how to help her anymore. He's gone. If he wasn't dead before, he's dead now. She won't believe me. It's holding her back.

"Keep working on her," Ji wrapped his arm around Serena, "It's all you can do."

Serena nodded, but she felt like Ji was wrong. She felt like there was more she could do.

-Samurai-

Mia had fallen asleep between him and the back of the couch, leaving Kevin able to flip through the channels on the TV. There wasn't much on, but he didn't really want to watch TV anyways. He kept glancing down at Mia.

He wouldn't leave her, afraid he would hurt her by doing so, and the last thing he wanted was for her to hurt. But staying here with his friends, allowing them to look after him after what his Nighlok had done, it felt wrong.

It felt wrong letting Mia trust him again. She had been hurt.

"Stop it," he heard her whispered and saw she was awake again. She could see he was upset and she didn't like it. "Kevin…"

"He hurt you, Mia."

"He did," she nodded. "He hurt me a lot too… not as much anymore, I guess. It mostly hurt because I thought I was losing you."

She stretched and kissed his lips, "You did nothing wrong. You came as soon as you could. Just in time, if anything."

"I should have come sooner…"

"It wouldn't have made a difference."

"I could have stopped Emily from going to the mountainside," Kevin said, "I could have gotten Mike out of the closet before he died. I could have stopped the Nighlok from sleeping with you."

Hurt. Guilt. Shame. It all hit Mia at once. Her eyes flooded with tears as she recoiled away from Kevin like he had just smacked her again. Realizing what he had said, and how it had hurt her, he pulled her back in and hugged her close, "No, no, Mia, I didn't mean to bring it up. That's not your fault. I won't let what happened last time…"

"I should have known it wasn't you…"

"No," Kevin shook his head and kissed the top of hers, "No, Mia, you had no way of knowing. He tricked you. You're the victim here this time. I'm so sorry I didn't make it home in time to help you."

Mia pulled away from him and got off the couch. Kevin sat up as she walked away. He thought maybe she would come back, but she never did. He got up and followed her into the kitchen. She was sitting at the table with her head in her hands.

"That's twice," she whispered when she heard him coming over, "That's twice I cheat…"

"You never cheated," Kevin wrapped his arms around her, "You love me, I know you do. No matter what the Nighlok do, as long as you're in my arms when it's all over, I'll never consider it cheating. I still love you."

"I'm sorry, Kevin…"

"Please don't apologize," Kevin kissed her cheek, "We'll start at zero, if you want. We'll pretend nothing happened…"

"It did."

"No."

"It did!"

Kevin gave her a loving squeeze, "I'm sorry he hurt you, Mia. I love you, everything about you. I love you."

"Don't. Don't touch me. I'm dirty, I'm…"

"Beautiful," Kevin kissed her cheek again, "Just as beautiful as before. Maybe more."

Mia wrapped her arms around Kevin's neck, "I love you too."

"And I'm beautiful?" Kevin asked with a playful smirk.

Mia smiled and nodded her head, "You're very beautiful."

"Scars and all?" Kevin pulled away and looked her in the eyes, "You know, I walked all the way from wherever that portal dropped me to you. Though, I guess because you tackled me into the door, you did the last little part of that running."

"Scars and all," Mia nodded. "And you love me, scars and all?"

"You're perfect," Kevin whispered, "You'll never be scarred to me."

-Samurai-

Emily had fallen with Mike's urn clutched tightly to her chest. She didn't really want to do anything else except lay with him, but he was gone. This was the best she could get.

In her dreams, she felt his arms wrapped tightly around her. In her dreams, he was still alive. But she was pulled from those dreams, as her body decided it was tired of sleeping and wanted to be awake. Her brain fought back, preferring her dreams, but her body won this round. Emily opened her eyes and saw the only thing close to her was Mike's remains. She sat up and sighed as she looked at the urn sadly.

"Joke's over," she whispered. "Then Nighlok's gone."

Nothing happened. She hugged the urn a little closer to her chest.

"You're always saving me," she said, "Let me save you once. You can't die the first time the tables turn."

"You saved me a lot more than you think."

Emily froze up. She heard him. She had definitely heard him. The others would think she was crazy. They would tell her it was just her mind playing tricks on her, but she refused to believe them. She turned around, hearing the voice had come from behind her. There he was, standing with his arms open and that smile he reserved just for her. She jumped into his arms, expecting a warm, comfortable hug.

Instead it was cold. Cold and empty. Like hugging air. She slipped down onto her feet and looked up at him in horror. He was glowing. She saw it now. There was a faint green glow around him.

"Mike…"

He took her hand and started to pull her out of the room. He led her into the room where he had died and over to the closet, where she had rescued him from.

"You missed something," he told her and pointed to the pile of blankets that had covered him. Emily inspected them and found his Samuraizer. She handed it to him, but he shook his head, "I'm dead. I don't need it."

"You're right there," Emily touched him. It was cold and empty, but she did touch him. She had hugged him not a minute earlier.

"I made a last-ditch effort to try to stop this from happening," he pointed to the Samuraizer and Emily opened it. She could see the last symbol he had tried to draw. It was only half-complete.

"What was it?"

"A symbol I learned to try to keep you safe," Mike chuckled, "I never thought I would need it for myself. It was supposed to keep me alive, at least for a few more hours. I only got halfway through it so it didn't work. But I don't think it failed completely."

"Why?"

Mike gestured to himself, "Exhibit A."

"So I'll finish it, then. You'll be alive. You're not choking anymore. You'll be okay…"

"Em, that's not your Samuraizer. You can't finish it," Mike ripped the Samuraizer from her hand and tossed it aside, "I've been given a second chance."

"By who?"

"I don't know."

"What do you need to do?"

"I don't know."

"Can I help you?"

"I don't know."

"Will you come back?"

"I don't know."

Emily sniffed, "So, someone, you don't know who, is giving you a second chance to do something, you don't know what, to maybe, you're not sure, bring you back to life… maybe?"

"What?"

"I don't know, Mike!" she screamed and punched him in the chest, "Stop confusing me! Are you alive or are you dead?"

"I don't know, Em… OW!" she punched him again, "I know I can feel that! Stop it."

"No! Dead or alive!" Emily screamed and hit him again, "Choose one!"

"Emily…"

She pushed him away and turned to leave. Mike grabbed her arm.

"I want to be alive," he told her, "I want to come back to you. I just don't know how to do it."

"I want to wake up," Emily screamed and started to pinch herself. "This isn't funny anymore!"

"You're not asleep," Mike assured her. Emily ripped her arm away from him and pinched herself over and over, harder and harder.

"I want to wake up! Leave me alone!"

"Emily!" it was Mia's cry this time, as she and Kevin hurried upstairs after hearing her screams. Mike watched as Emily froze up and her cries were muted as their arms came around her.

Kevin looked at her as Mia hugged her, "Emily, you are awake. What's wrong?"

Emily didn't say anything. She was quiet. She was blank. Tears slipped down Mike's cheeks. He knew exactly what she was doing. She was shutting down. She wasn't going to talk to them. She wasn't going to ask for help.

"Emily, please say something to them," he begged her.

"Are you alive or dead?" she asked him.

Kevin looked confused, "Alive? Emily, I explained the seal to you. As long as it's on, I won't die."

Mike knew she was talking to him. She would only talk to him.

"I don't know, Emily. Both?"

"They can't see you, can they?" Emily asked and Mike shook his head. She started to sob, "Why me?"

"Who are you talking to, Emily," Mia looked to her worriedly. "Talk to us. What's wrong? What do you need?"

Mike touched Emily's arm, "I don't want to hurt you. I want to…"

"Leave me alone!" Emily screamed and ripped herself away from Mia and Kevin before storming back into her room and slamming the door. Mia and Kevin went after her, scared to leave her alone.

Mike dropped his head in his hands, "Help. I want to help," he picked up his Samuraizer, "What can I do to help?"

Before his eyes, his Samuraizer started to glow. He watched, fascinated, as it turned into an hourglass, with the sand dripping from the top to the bottom. He tried to flip it around, but the top and the bottom switched places, and the sand continued to drop. Time was running out.

"There's a week's worth of sand in there," he heard a voice say and looked down. His bear Zord was talking to him – in English.

"Pooh-Bear?"

"Don't call me that," the bear jumped up onto the bed, "The sand will take a week to fall. Prove to me you deserve another chance and I'll give you're your body back."

"Aside from being murdered and having my life ripped away from me unfairly?" Mike asked. He pointed to the wall. Emily's room was on the other side, "Look, Baloo, my fiancée's in that room in tears because I'm dead. I don't care if I deserve a second chance or not. She needs me. You can't do this to her!"

"Prove to me fate was wrong, and I'll gladly make her happy."

"How?" Mike asked and picked up the bear, "I'll do anything. Just tell me…"

The bear Zord folded up and fell right out of his hand. Mike kicked the square device and paced back and forth. He had a week. A week to figure out what his stupid bear wanted from him. How could be prove he deserved to be on Earth?


End file.
